


Harry Potter and the Mysterious Mind Reader

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Out of Character, Romance, Telepathy, a dangerous tendency for being constantly injured, death eaters are mean, don't touch the goblet!!, for a reason!!!, you idiot you touched the goblet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-13 12:43:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 71
Words: 130,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13570830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Danni is a student at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. She has always felt a deep hatred for the famous Harry Potter. Then he catches her breaking the rules, and offers her a deal that she can't refuse. After seeing more sides of the famous figure, she begins to become unsure of her own feelings.





	1. Danni

**Author's Note:**

> So on ff.net (where all my fics are also posted) I have received a lot of hate for this story from people who were too dumb to read my author's notes. So please don't get mad at me if you choose not to read this! Yes, I know that the characters in this story seem very, very out of character. I am very aware of that, and it is intentional! The reasons behind this decision will be explained in a later chapter, so just hold your horses! Please don't tell me how much this story sucks just because Harry is nothing like he is in the books! I know! There is a reason! If you don't want a story with Harry being out of character, then just don't read this! Or at least read long enough to reach the explanation! I don't normally like yelling at people, but in this case it feels warranted!

Danni looked around nervously. She knew that what she was doing wasn’t encouraged, even if it wasn’t exactly against the rules. Danni Cobb was fifteen years old, a member of the Ravenclaw house in Hogwarts. And ever since her first day, she had felt hatred for the dark haired boy with the lightning shaped scar. There was only one problem, and that was the fact that she was completely invisible.

To him, at least. He was one of the most famous figures in the wizarding world, and she was just an ordinary kid. She had been raised knowing she was a witch her whole life, since her parents were a wizard and a witch, and her older brother Jacob was also a wizard, though he was already old enough to use magic outside of school. She had never thought she was particularly special in any way, since her whole family was magical. And compared to the famous Harry Potter, she was an insignificant fly on the wall.

Harry Potter had everything that would never be within Danni’s reach. He had a family, the Weasley’s, who took care of him and loved him. He had many books written about him. He had a place in Dumbledore’s heart in a way that most students didn’t. He had defeated He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named more times than any competent adult. He had two best friends, Ron and Hermione, who he would always be able to rely on. 

And to top it off, he always seemed like an arrogant jerk. He was always showing off around the other students, whether it was flying on a broom the first time, or becoming the youngest quidditch seeker in history, or taking his first hippogriff fight, he was in the center of attention.

And even though no one bothered to pay attention, Danni had always resented the kid, despite the fact that his parents had been murdered by one of the most evil people imaginable when he was just a baby, and that he had been raised by his aunt and uncle who weren’t very good people. 

Danni was sneaking down the hallway in the dark, long past curfew. She knew she wouldn’t get caught. Though she had never told anyone before, Danni had the unique ability to read minds. But after she saw how shunned Harry Potter was when it was discovered that he knew Parseltongue, she knew she didn’t want to risk that kind of alienation when she barely had any friends as it was.

Danni had never imagined that she would be doing something as mean as she planned to, but she shrugged when she started to hesitate. She wasn’t hurting anyone, not really, and besides, Harry wasn’t likely to get into any trouble at all with the way the teachers favored him. After what seemed like hours of walking and climbing staircases, she finally entered the Great Hall.

She went over to the giant hourglasses on the wall. She walked past the first three, and stood before the last one, filled about a quarter way up with glistening rubies. She held her breath for a moment to extend her mind, and she didn’t feel anyone, human or ghost, anywhere near her. She pulled out her wand and held it out steadily in front of her. She was a little nervous. If she was somehow caught, the consequences would be devastating.

Her breath caught in her throat as she imagined being permanently expelled. She forced herself to think about the fact that she would know as soon as anyone approached. Danni smiled as she began to softly murmur a spell under her breath. Ravenclaw had been the perfect place for her, as she had proved with her intelligence and wit many times over. And the hourglasses were supposed to be tamper proof, but she had come up with a way around that.

Once she closed her mouth, she watched with fascination as the rubies slowly rose up in the hourglass. She smirked. Making them lose house points would only make it clear that it had been sabotage, but by giving them more points, it would seem like one of the Gryffindors had been trying to cheat.

While Danni was concentrating on making her brand new spell work perfectly, she forget to keep a bit of her mind open to hear if anyone else approached. Suddenly, she heard footsteps tapping across the stone floor, coming closer, and she felt dread tear through her stomach. This was it, this was the end. They were going to expel her and never let her use magic again.

She spun around, and stared with surprise into the face of the one person she hated most of all: Harry Potter.


	2. Harry

Harry stared at the girl in front of him with wide eyes. She was a few inches shorter than him, and she had thick brown hair that went down to her waist, and deep brown eyes. She looked like she was about to run away, and she had the guilty look of someone caught doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing. Harry noticed that her robes were lined with blue and bronze, so she must be a Ravenclaw.

She looked sort of familiar, like maybe Harry had seen her around the school before, in some of his classes, but he couldn’t recall her name. He looked up at the hourglass and saw it was slowly filling with more rubies, and he was confused. Why would someone from another house purposely give Gryffindor more points? Maybe she had meant to give Ravenclaw more, but messed up.

Harry nodded up at the giant hourglass. “Did you do that?”

The girl nodded slowly. “Y...yes. Please, don’t tell anyone. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to fix it.” Harry noticed that the girl looked a little disgusted with herself for pleading with him.

He tried to keep his voice gentle, since it was obvious the girl wanted to take off. “You can start by telling me your name.”

She gulped. “Uh… Danni-ella.” Harry frowned, and she shook her head. “Sorry. Daniella.” She gave him a smirk, and the scared look was gone from her face, though Harry could still see the fright in her eyes, so he knew it was just an act. “And who are you?”

Harry raised one eyebrow, but decided to play along, at least for now. “Oh, you’ve probably never heard of me. My name is Harry.”

Danni shrugged. “That’s such a basic name.” Then she blushed, and ducked her head down so she was staring intently at the floor. She spoke in a mumble. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

Harry shrugged. “I think you might have. But don’t worry, I don’t mind. But I do want to know why you’re giving extra points to the wrong house.”

Danni shook her head. “I thought that if I gave Gryffindor more points, it would look like they cheated, so they would all get in trouble.”

Harry tilted his head to the side. “Why would you want to get Gryffindor in trouble?”

Danni peered up from underneath the hair covering the top half of her face, and she looked angry. “Because they all love you soo much. Like you’re so great. They worship you like a god, but you’re not special. You didn’t do anything to save yourself from You-Know-Who other than having a loving mother, and that wasn’t some great accomplishment by you. You’re not that special, not at all. You’re just a boy. Nothing more.”

Harry was surprised at that outburst. Even people who blatantly hated him had never come out and spoken so frankly to him. This girl was clearly afraid, but that hadn’t stopped her from speaking her mind. And the way she spoke… no one had ever talked to him like that before in his life, and it almost felt… refreshing. To think that there were people who didn’t love him because of his fame.

He felt an idea begin to form in his mind, and he grinned. “Alright, I won’t turn you in, I promise.” Danni let out a breath of air she hadn’t been aware of holding. But Harry wasn’t finished yet. “And, in exchange, I want you to hang out with me.”

Danni jerked her head up to stare at him in disbelief. “What?!”

He shrugged. “Well, if you hate me so much, then that will be your punishment.” Harry felt a little selfish. He only gave her that ultimatum because he wanted to hang out with her and talk with her more, but he knew she would never willingly accompany him anywhere. 

Danni glared at him, but he wasn’t backing down. She knew that she really had no choice. If she refused, then she would be expelled for sure, and her parents would be so disappointed in her. So she took a deep gulp of air, then let it all out. As much as she hated Harry and all his Gryffindor groupies, she could endure them if it meant he would keep his mouth shut. “... Fine…”

Harry grinned without realizing it. “Good. Oh, and you also need to reverse that spell or whatever it is you did to give us more points.”

Danni turned around towards the giant hourglasses with a frown. If looks could kill, then Harry would be dead, and Voldemort would have one more thing to cross off of his to do list. She held up her wand arm, and murmured the second part to the made up incantation, and moved the wand with a slight flick of the wrist.

The extra rubies vanished, leaving the Gryffindor hourglass as full as it had been before Danni started messing with it. She turned back towards the boy who lived. “How long do I have to hang out with you?”

Harry was a little unnerved. He had never expected to hear so much reluctance to be in his company from anyone outside of Draco Malfoy and his groupies. “Um… I don’t know. Maybe two months? That sounds fair.”

Danni’s eyes widened at the prospect of hanging out with her least favorite person for so long. She wasn’t stupid, though, so she decided to barter her way through this. “How about two weeks instead?”

Harry raised his eyebrows slightly. He hadn’t expected a counter offer. He would have to learn how to expect the unexpected when it came to this girl. “Six weeks.”

Danni shook her head. “Six weeks and one hundred galleons.”

Harry sighed. “One month and ten galleons, and that’s my final offer.”

Danni pretended to think about it for a moment, even though she already knew her answer. She had cut her torture time in half, and gotten money out of it, in exchange for Harry not tattling on her. It was an easy decision. She held out her hand. “Fine, deal.”

Harry grabbed her hand as though he was going to shake it, but he pulled her closer to him instead. He whispered, “That’s not how we seal deals where I’m from,” and he breathed the gentlest kiss Danni had ever felt across her lips. Then he let go and stepped back. “We should probably get back to our respective dorms before anyone notices that we’re out of bed past curfew.”

Danni nodded, annoyed at Harry’s forwardness. Then a thought struck her. “Wait, what were you doing down here after curfew in the first place?”

He grinned. “It’s a secret.”

Danni was tempted to read his mind, but decided against it. She wouldn’t survive the next month if she let herself know everything there was to Harry Potter, when she could barely stand him with the information she already had.

She watched him walk away, then sunk down to the floor. She sat on the cold marble, her back leaned up against the platform the the teachers’ table was on. For the first time in a while, her brain wasn’t whirring with activity and trying to solve everything that was wrong. She didn’t even care that she was breaking the rules anymore. There wasn’t any consequence the teachers could administer, save expulsion, that were worse than Harry Potter’s punishment.


	3. Danni

Danni’s eyes darted around the great hall at breakfast the next morning. There were so many students milling about, and it wouldn’t be her fault if she somehow didn’t get to bump into Harry. She spotted the mop of messy black hair and red and gold robes all the way across the hall, and she sighed with relief. After all, it wasn’t her fault if he didn’t see her around.

She turned around, and jumped back with a start. She tilted her head back to glance up, and saw Harry standing there, a knowing grin on his face. “Danni. So good to see you again. How’s it going?”

Danni cleared her throat nervously. “I’m fine. But umm, I don’t think I can hang out with you right now. We’re supposed to eat at our own tables.”

Harry’s grin widened. “Don’t worry, I already thought of that.” He patted his stomach, which seemed to have expanded quite a lot in just a few hours. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back out into the empty hallway. He let a red and gold robe slide out from underneath his robes, and held it out. “I asked Hermione if I could borrow her old robes from our second year. They should fit you. And don’t worry, I already filled all my friends in, and they won’t tell on you.”

Danni snatched the robes with a scowl. She shed her blue ones, and slipped on the strange ones that felt worn in. She noted with discomfort that the robes fit her perfectly. Harry pulled her back inside, and led her to the Gryffindor table. They sat down in the same section as all of Harry’s friends, and Danni had to repress a frown. 

Harry was sitting on one side of her, and Hermione and Ron were on the other. Hermione smiled when she saw Danni’s face, mistaking the annoyance for nervousness. “Don’t worry, we won’t tell on you. I can understand being in love.” Her eyes flickered over to the ginger sitting next to her.

Danni angled herself so she could glare at Harry without the others noticing. She hissed under her breath at him. “What the bloody hell did you tell them?”

Harry shrugged. “I couldn’t exactly tell them about our deal. They would want to know what I promised you in exchange, and then I would have to tell them about what you were doing.”

Danni slouched down a little. She opened her mind to get a glimpse of what Harry’s best friends were thinking. She focused on Hermione first. “I can’t believe he’s stupid enough to believe every whore who says she likes him for who he is. He’s going to get in so much trouble, and it’s all going to be her fault.”

Danni shook her head, and tried not to get discouraged. She focused on Ron next. “As soon as Harry saw her enter the hall, he’s only had eyes for her. I’m his best friend, he should talk to me more than some girl.”

Danni’s eyes stung with tears that she had to force back. She wouldn’t be able to take much more of this. She clamped her eyes shut, and concentrating on turning off all the voices bombarding her mind. Whenever she was emotionally distraught, she would lose control of her power.

Just as she was finding her silent place, somewhere deep in her mind, she was jolted back to reality by a brief squeeze of her hand. She cracked one eye open. Harry was holding her hand comfortingly, tracing circles lightly on the back of her hand. But he was still talking animatedly with all his friends, making no indication that he wasn’t one hundred percent focused on them.

She really wanted to know what he was thinking now, but she also knew that she didn’t want to know. She wasn’t sure what exactly she would want to hear emanating from his mind, but she fairly certain that whatever he was thinking wouldn’t be it. 

Danni took a few deep breaths and started to stand up, but Harry refused to let go of her hand. If she stood up now, everyone would see the intimate gesture. She shifted awkwardly on the bench, and Harry also shifted, almost simultaneously. Danni thought her eyes were going to bug out of her head. 

He had pulled her closer to him, and they were literally sitting hip to hip. No one had ever really told Danni what to do in this situation. And the way they were angled apart from each other made it appear that they were still several inches apart, so none of his friends were going to come to her rescue.

After what seemed like forever, breakfast was over, and all of Danni’s instincts were telling her to just dart away now. Harry probably wouldn’t be able to find her in the confusing crowd of hundreds of students pouring out into the hallways. But Harry didn’t let go of her hand, even as his friends got up and left. He suddenly slid underneath the table, and pulled Danni under with him. 

Heavy footsteps, most likely a teacher, tapped across the hall to make one final check that everything was in order, and everyone had left the cavernous room. When the footsteps got closer to them, Harry pressed his hand against Danni’s mouth and shushed into her ear. Then the footsteps kept going, and there was a loud bang as the doors slammed shut.

They were once again alone in the great hall.


	4. Harry

Harry looked over at Danni as they were crouched under the table, and he could literally hear her heart beating. He stood up, and pulled her up with him. He gave her a concerned look. “What’s wrong? I get that you don’t like me, but what made you suddenly want to bolt?”

Danni shook her head. She couldn’t tell Harry that she could read minds. He would probably tell all his friends, and they would have a good laugh about it. She mumbled softly. “I just wanted to get away from you.”

Harry let go of her hand, and she almost whimpered at the loss of his warmth. She could see the hurt look in his eyes, and she told herself she didn’t care. After all, she had always hated him, and actually meeting him just last night wasn’t going to change that. And he shouldn’t look so sad, he knew from the start that Danni didn’t like him.

Harry pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. He saw that Danni looked uncomfortable, and he just wanted to feel hurt that someone disliked him that much. But then he noticed that she was squirming awkwardly, and had a guilty look in her eyes. She felt bad for hurting his feelings. That meant that she couldn’t hate him that much, right?

He crossed his arms over his chest. “And that’s the only reason you wanted to leave.”

Danni nodded stubbornly, then spoke as she thought of another thing. “Well, I also wanted to talk to my friends, but you dragged me away from them.”

Harry felt like that wasn’t everything, but he didn’t want to push it. He hadn’t actually considered that she had just wanted to eat a simple breakfast with her friends. Danni started to shrug off the red robes. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my dorm. I need to grab my books and stuff.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully. “What class do you have first?”

“Transformations.”

Harry shrugged. “Skip it.” He laughed at Danni’s horrified look.

Her eyebrows were practically sitting at her hairline, she raised them so much. “Are you serious? You may be able to get away with things like that, but I would get detentions for a month.”

“But wouldn’t it be worth it just to hang out with me?” The look on Danni’s face was priceless.

She spluttered, until she was able to think of a good argument. “If I get detentions for a month, that means thirty less hours that I have to hang out with you, so you’re right, it’s absolutely worth it.”

Harry shrugged again. “Just tell them you were helping me with my homework or something. Then they won’t be able to give you any punishment.”

Danni shook her head. “You just think you’re so above the rest of us, don’t you?”

Harry grinned. “Well, yeah, I did defeat V-” Danni pressed her hands against his mouth.

She hissed at him. “Are you crazy? I don’t care who you are, you can’t just go around saying his name as easily as you can say soup.”

Harry frowned. “I think soup is a pretty difficult word. Maybe we should just rename soup you-know-who, because then whenever we talk about soup, people will give us funny looks.” Danni looked a little shocked that Harry had spoken right into her hands.

She pulled her hands away, and wiped them on the side of her skirt. At Harry’s confused look, she said, “Potter cooties.” which caused Harry to burst out laughing.

“Seriously? Cooties? That’s like… so childish.”

Danni glanced up at the giant hourglasses, and Harry turned around to follow her gaze. As soon as he turned around, Danni dashed for the door, not caring that she was still wearing Hermione’s old robes. 

But she hadn’t realized how fit Harry was, since Quidditch training was pretty intense. He had heard her pounding footsteps, and caught up with her right away. He grabbed the robes, and tugged too hard, sending Danni toppling to the ground, and Harry fell on top of her.

Danni was only still for a moment before she started trying to wiggle out from under Harry, who had her pinned to the ground. She shoved his chest, but he barely moved. “Hey, are you going to move or what? I already told you that I need to get to class.”

Harry nodded. “Alright. Feel free to go at anytime.” He didn’t make any effort to move, just stayed where he was, and Danni kept pushing against him, trying to get out. 

After a few minutes, she gave up, and just laid there, silently fuming. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Someone is going to walk in here any minute now.”

Harry smiled. “Let them. Who cares?” When Danni grimaced, he couldn’t help letting his smile grow. “What’s the matter? Afraid this would ruin your reputation as the Harry Potter hater?”

Danni frowned. “Maybe I wouldn’t hate you so much if you didn’t always act like you’re better than everyone else. The majority of Slytherin house are good people, but you judge them all as bad because a small group of them think they are better than everyone else. You also think you’re better than everyone else though, so you’re no better than them. But I don’t judge the entire Gryffindor house because of you and a few others.”

Harry nodded slowly. “I see. Well the thing is… I am better than everyone else. I don’t see you defeating grown mountain trolls or the basilisk or any of the other things I’ve done.”

Danni pouted for a moment. “But you wouldn’t have fought that troll if you hadn’t been so mean to Hermione, and Ron is the one who beat a chess game to let you get to the stone or whatever, and Hermione is the one who made the polyjuice potion and helped you find the basilisk, and Dumbledore has always given you special treatment, and if I was in the same circumstances as you…”

Harry grinned. “Alright. But can you do this?” He rolled off of Danni and stood up. He pulled out his wand and waved it in front of him. “Expecto patronum.” There was a silver light, and then a life sized silver stag was standing in the middle of the great hall. 

Danni slowly stood up, her eyes wide. “You can do the patronus charm? That is…” she caught herself before she said anything too complimentative. “...okay, I guess. I mean, if you’re into that kind of thing. But since the dementors work for the ministry of magic, it’s not like you’ll ever need that, right? So it’s mediocre. There are more useful things you could learn.”

Harry laughed. “You’re right, that’s hardly impressive at all. Do tell me what spells you can do ahead of everyone else in our year?’

Danni smirked. “Did you forget who was messing with the balance of the rubies last night?”

Harry nodded. “Touche. I guess we are equally matched, then. So maybe I’m better than most people… but I know that I’m not better than you.” And despite Danni furiously telling herself that that wasn’t even anything, a bright red blush spread across her face, much to Harry’s amusement.

Then she realized that she was free, and she sprinted away. She really didn’t want to miss any classes, and McGonagall was such a strict professor. Harry watched her go, but made no move to follow after her. He was confident that he would see her again.


	5. Danni

Danni breathed in the fresh air as she lounged around in the courtyard with a couple of her friends. They weren’t really slacking off, they all had thick textbooks laid out in front of them, and they were all studying together. Danni’s mind wasn’t completely focused on the material, though. She had managed to avoid Harry all day yesterday after breakfast, and all morning today.

But now he was marching into the courtyard with his band of merry followers, and they were all talking and laughing, and it looked like fun. Danni almost caught herself wishing she could join them. But she banished the traitorous thoughts. Hermione and Ron hadn’t approved of her, and she didn’t want to mess up Harry’s social life…

Danni glanced over at the red and gold clad troupe, and she smirked. Why shouldn’t she sabotage Harry’s social life? She would just do everything possible to mess up his relationships, and simultaneously make him back out of their deal. 

She gulped nervously. She had never just gone right up to anyone from Harry’s clique, and she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to do it now. She turned around as she heard her own friends grumble impatiently. “Danni, I’ve said your name like ten times already. What’s distracting you? This is important stuff if you want to pass your exams.”

Danni shrugged. “Everyone else in the other houses always seem to do just fine, even if they don’t study this hard. Maybe if we just loosened up and had a little fun, it would be easier to focus on the tests later.”

Sarah shook her head firmly. “That’s just excuses and procrastination. And yes, those other guys are able to pass those exams, but how many of them actually go on to do something with their lives? They don’t get scores nearly high enough for magical professions.”

Danni pushed her chair back and stood up. She stretched her arms. “I’m going to relax a little. I doubt that missing an hour of studying is going to become a life or death situation.”

She began to walk over to the noisy Gryffindors, and she could feel the heat of her friends’ gazes on her back. She tried to look casual, but she imagined that she was walking like a very stiff robot. She sidled right up to Harry, then pulled him into a surprise hug. She felt him stiffen as his guard was raised, but when he turned around and saw who it was, his muscles relaxed again.

He smiled like she was a pleasant surprise. “Danni,” he said warmly. “I would have thought you’d prefer to continue studying.”

Danni shrugged. “Too bad studying can fry your brain. And even if I do have the brain cells to spare, unlike some people,” she gave Harry a pointed look. “that doesn’t mean I’m willing to sacrifice all of mine just because there’s a few tests coming up.”

She tilted her head and focused on Hermione’s mind. “Seriously? Ravenclaws’ only assets are their brains, and now they’re just going to let those go too? I don’t want to be mean, but she really is pushing to be close to Harry, and that makes me nervous. All the people who have tried to get close to him end up betraying him, and I don’t want to see him hurt again.”

Danni allowed a small inwards smile. Maybe his friends were just over protective. That seemed noble, and she almost felt jealous. Sure, her friends were loyal to her, but she knew that they weren’t close enough that any of them would ever risk their lives for her the way Harry’s friends had for him. She moved away from Hermione, and focused on Ron’s mind.

“This girl again? Is she going to become some kind of regular groupie? And why is Harry flirting back with her? I thought he liked Cho. He’s not being very smart right now.”

Danni groaned to herself. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe there was nothing admirable about Harry’s friends other than the fact that they appeared to care for him. She couldn’t get specifics though, since she could only hear what a person was thinking at the moment that she decided to listen in. It was usually pretty easy to get people to think about what she wanted them to, but now was not the time. 

She glanced back, and saw her study buddies staring at her with shocked looks on their faces. They had no idea what had possessed their friend to approach one of the most famous faces in the wizarding world, and they wanted to know why she was acting like she and Harry were best friends. 

Danni wasn’t exactly sure what was driving her right now, either. She was the one who had wanted to avoid him, and now here she was, going out of her way to talk to him. Partly she wanted to prove to herself that she was brave enough to do it. And partly she wanted to embarrass him in front of his friends. But the second part wasn’t working out so well, since as soon as he saw her, Harry didn’t deviate his attention from Danni. She had to force back the blush that was spreading from the back of her neck.

She decided that it was too late to run away now. “So, how have you been?”

Harry smiled boyishly. “After last night, I couldn’t have been better all day.”

Now Danni couldn’t stop her face from turning the color of a tomato. She was mortified. And even though he had that innocent expression, Danni knew that he understood perfectly what he had just said. She couldn’t help hearing the thoughts of Hermione, which were practically screams inside her head. “He SLEPT with that SKANK?! WHAT was he THINKING!? This is TERRIBLE!”

Danni gulped, and forced herself not to jump forward and throttle the bushy haired girl right then and there. She blinked rapidly, and her obviously flustered look didn’t make her look any more innocent. She knew that she could say, ‘It’s not what it sounds like,’ or something like that, but it wouldn’t matter. The judgements had already been made.

She mumbled under her breath. “Umm… sorry, I have to go umm, do something…” She trailed off lamely, then turned around and ran out of the courtyard as fast as she could. Only a small group of people had overheard, but that was enough for the rumors to start spreading like a wildfire.

And now any feeling less than hate that Danni had thought she had felt were gone. Pure hate, that’s all she felt. Harry would probably be congratulated for his ‘conquest’, since Danni thought she was pretty attractive. But they would call her a slut, or a whore, or come up with names that were a million times worse.

Danni ran through the hallways, not bumping into many people. Most people were hanging around outside since it was such a gorgeous day. Her shoes tapped against the stone floors with each step. She started to head to her dorm rooms, but changed her mind halfway there. That would be the first place that Sarah and the others would look for her. Even if they tried to comfort her, Danni wasn’t sure they could say anything to negate Harry’s stupid word choice.

She paused to gasp for breath, and watched with amazement as the wall next to her opened into a doorway. She peered inside and saw a winding staircase, and as unfamiliar as it was, it had to be better than facing the crowds of malicious students. As soon as she stepped inside, the opening behind her closed, and the stairs began to move up on their own, like an escalator. 

Danni walked down a very short hallway once she reached the top of the stairs, and she looked around in amazement at the vast office she was standing in. Then she froze when she saw the giant portrait of Professor Dumbledore on the wall. She was in his office. But she hadn’t been invited. She had never heard of someone getting in without him letting them, but she must have somehow activated some magical switch that controlled the door and stairs.

She closed her eyes and reached out her mind, and she was certain that there was no one around other than the fiery red bird perched on a small wooden bar. She decided to look around. If she was going to get in trouble for breaking in, which she inevitably would, she might as well get something out of it.

Danni went over to the desk and tried the drawers, but they were all locked. She shrugged. She wasn’t going to actually try and unseal the mysterious headmaster’s private business. She went up the small flight of stairs, and found herself standing on a wide balcony. She went up to the rail and looked down. 

She thought she was going to feel vertigo, but instead she only felt exhilaration. She felt like she was high enough up to touch the clouds if she just stretched up a little bit. She laughed, and then spun around as she felt the presence of a very powerful mind. She knew without even looking that it was Dumbledore. And she knew that there was no way she wasn’t going to get in deep trouble for this.


	6. Harry

Harry had known he made the wrong call as soon as he had watched Danni run away. He thought maybe he could just tease her some more and elicit that adorable blush from her. Instead, it seemed that he had humiliated her. He turned to his friends calmly. “I was just joking. I never spent the night with her. You understand that, right?”

Ron and Hermione shot each other a knowing look, then turned back to Harry with blank faces. They both gave a terse nod, and moved to leave the courtyard. Harry let them go. He deserved a little isolation for being an asshole. 

He sighed, and decided that it was kind of his duty to chase after Danni. He started to go, but froze when he heard snickering behind him. He turned around, and wanted to roll his eyes at the vulgar gestures his classmates were making. He sighed. As important as it was to go after Danni and make sure she was okay, it was even more important to protect her reputation that had been sullied by his words.

He approached the two guys, and saw with annoyance that they were wearing green robes, Slytherins. They both gave him winning smiles, and the bigger one spoke up. “Hey man, congratulations. Looks like your fame is good for something after all.”

Harry frowned politely, and spoke with a calm tone that made him sound like he had nowhere he would rather be. “And what would that be?”

The boy grinned. “Shagging hot little nerds like that, for one!” He turned to high five his friend. Harry mentally stepped back to assess the situation. He was outnumbered, and he didn’t want to risk getting in trouble for using magic against another student. 

“Hey, knock it off. I was only kidding.”

The guy shrugged. “Figures. You’re too scrawny to get any action anyways. But hey, it certainly sounds good. Besides, what’s the harm in letting your reputation grow a little?”

Harry raised one eyebrow. “I don’t know why I should get more respect because of rumors that are hurtful towards another person.”

The boy sneered. “Trying to take the high road like always, Potty? Well I think it’s our duty to drag you down a little bit. We wouldn’t want you getting a swelled head, thinking you’re better than us.”

Harry continued to talk as though it was a pleasant and calm discussion, even as the bully got more worked up. “But it’s only fair for me to think I’m better than you, since it’s the truth. And Danni? She’s ten times the person I’ll ever be. Which makes her one hundred times the person you could ever possibly hope to become.”

The Slytherin stopped for a moment, to think, most likely. Harry could practically hear the gears turning in the thick skull. “Hey, would a better man really be that derogatory?” The boy grinned with satisfaction, like he was proud of himself for using a word that had more than four syllables. 

Harry shrugged. “It’s my right to be, considering how I am better than you. But that doesn’t really matter. The point is, leave Danni alone.”

The shorter boy finally decided to speak up. He made sloppy kissing noises. “Ooooh… Potter’s in love with the bookworm!”

He laughed, and Harry clenched his fists. He had to force back the urge to whip out his wand and start spouting every spell he could think of. And surprisingly, it wasn’t the attacks on himself that were so provoking, it was the way they were attacking Danni. She was a good person, even if she did try to get Gryffindor in trouble, and she didn’t deserve what these guys were saying about her.

He straightened his back and stood tall, now standing eye level with the bigger of the two boys. “What was that? I could have sworn I just heard your buddy there saying the word ‘love’.” He raised his voice so that almost everyone in the courtyard could hear him. “You two are in love? That’s so adorable. I hope you’re happy together.”

Almost immediately, there was a swarm of girls surrounding the two boys. For some reason, girls were always itching to make a gay friend, and hearing them ask if they could go shopping together a million times would be an adequate punishment.

Harry took the opportunity to escape, and found himself wandering back towards the Great Hall. A grin played across his lips as he remembered when he first saw Danni. He mentally scolded himself for being nostalgic over something that literally happened less than two days ago. But he walked with a puffed up swagger, feeling like the hero who just defeated the evil villain to rescue the damsel in distress. His grin grew wider at the thought of his damsel in distress.


	7. Danni

Danni felt Dumbledore’s eyes on her as they both watched the scene in the courtyard below unfold. Now Harry was storming off, quickly out of sight, and even though she hadn’t been able to hear the exchange, she had a feeling that he had been defending her. If anyone asked, she would deny the spurt of happiness she felt at that thought.

She turned to the headmaster, ready to accept punishment for breaking into his office. He was just smiling pleasantly. “Hello, it’s good to see you. Daniella, right?”

Danni nodded slowly, unsure of what was going to happen next. She tried not to make it too obvious as she let her mind slip a little, into the older man’s. “What a pleasant surprise. She’s the one Harry told me about. She must be special indeed to catch his eye.” Danni blushed at the words that hadn’t been said out loud. Harry had just been torturing her this whole time, right? She hadn’t actually… caught his eye?

She cleared her throat. “Yes sir. I’m really sorry for breaking into your office, sir. I accept any punishment that you deem fit.”

Dumbledore arched one eyebrow, his eyes twinkling in amusement. “Oh, that won’t be necessary. You wouldn’t have been able to get in here if you weren’t given permission.” Danni pressed her mouth into a flat line. She peered into the wizard’s mind again. “Yes… there is definitely something special about her, I can feel it. What a unique child.”

Danni shifted on her feet. “Sir? Why would you want to meet me?”

“Ah, humble too. Such a rare quality in children these days.” He smiled. “Well, it’s actually to discuss a… problem. One that I think you may be able to help me with.”

“Sir?”

Dumbledore reached up to push back his glasses, which were getting a little too close to falling off his nose. “Yes. It has come to my attention that sometime between dinner last night and breakfast this morning, someone was tampering with the house points.”

Danni gulped. There was no way it was a coincidence if he was calling her out on her crime. But she wasn’t just going to confess. She was in the unique position to actually see what he knew before she gave herself up. “Two teachers saw one Daniella Cobb roaming the hallways last night, around the time the sabotage must have happened.” 

Danni tried to keep her face blank. He may suspect her, but that wouldn’t be enough for him to convict her. “How would I be able to help?”

“Well, I know that the hourglasses are designed specifically so that only the staff has the authority to take or give points. It would take a very intelligent and talented person to create a way to override that system. Ravenclaw, your house, has a reputation for having many smart and creative students.” “From her grades, I would say that she is absolutely smart enough to come up with it on her own. But why? She has no quarrel with Gryffindor as far as I can tell.”

Danni shrugged. “True.” she was privately acknowledging both counts, not just the one that she was supposed to hear. “But I still don’t understand how I can help.”  
Dumbledore’s grin didn’t go away. “I was hoping you would be able to figure out a way to mess with the house points. When you do, I will be able to narrow down the list of suspects to those who are most likely in your league.”

Danni gulped. She let herself get a little angry. Harry had to have tattled on her. How else would he know that anything had gone on other than her wandering the hallways? “Sir? How were you made aware of someone’s attempt to cheat?”

“There was an extra ruby in the Gryffindor hourglass. I suspect that whoever did this regretted the idea of cheating, and tried to erase the crime. But one extra gem was left behind.”

Danni now felt more furious with herself than with Harry. She had gotten careless. It would most likely be her fault when they got caught, which was inevitable. The headmaster wasn’t the type of person to just let something so terrible go, and she was on his radar. “Harry should have shared his cloak with her. I wonder what he was doing wandering around so late as well?”

Danni coughed. “Sir, I would be honored to help you catch the one who was messing with the hourglasses. And don’t worry, I’ll be diligent in finding that spell.”

“Of course. You may leave now.”

Danni nodded, and scampered out of the office. She took the moving staircase, and it dropped her off where it had picked her up. She shook her head and started towards the dorms. Maybe then she would be able to clear her head and start thinking of a plan. Because if she didn’t come up with something, and fast, then she was totally screwed.


	8. Harry

Harry let the soft satiny material run through his fingers. It was half past eight, the lights out time for all students fourth year and below. And he should be changing into his pyjamas and getting into bed as well by this time.

But there was a possibility, however slim, that Danni was going to be roaming the halls after hours again. Probably not right away, like they had last night, it was safer to wait until the older students were in bed as well. He glanced around, and heard the voices from the common room getting louder. He slipped into his bed, still wearing his clothes, and pulled his blanket up to his neck. He closed his eyes and made his breaths deeper.

When the other boys entered the room, they quieted down when they saw Harry sleeping. They changed and got into bed, and when the lights went out, the room was silent. Harry opened his eyes and pushed his blanket back. With the chilly draft hitting him, he wouldn’t accidentally fall asleep.

He waited for a while, at least an hour after the older students had gone to bed, before standing up. He grabbed his cloak and pulled it over his head. He carefully made his way to the Great Hall, making sure to avoid teachers and ghosts. He got nervous around them even though they couldn’t actually see him.

He slipped into the Great Hall, and even though he had been hoping to see Danni, he wasn’t hoping like this. He could see her, staring intently at the hourglasses. Occasionally she wrote something down in the journal that was sitting open on the table next to her, and then she would try some random spell. Harry watched in shock for several minutes. Was she seriously trying to figure out another way to sabotage the house points?

He was going to try and surprise her, but she spoke first. “I know you’re there, Harry Potter. And you should probably leave before you get caught.”

He shrugged, even though she couldn’t see him. He was disappointed she had heard him, though. He would have to practice walking quieter. “And how do think that I would be the one caught when I’m the invisible one right now?”

She shrugged, still not turning to face him as she scribbled down more notes. “The headmaster seems like the type of person to know you’re there, even if you are technically invisible.” She tensed, and then hissed at him. “Stay absolutely silent. Don’t even breathe if you can help it.”

A moment later, Harry froze at the sound of footsteps coming up behind him. He wanted to scurry out of the way so he wouldn’t get bumped into, but it was too risky to even take a single step on those stone floors. Dumbledore brushed by, inches away from stepping right into Harry. He went over to Danni, who must have had really good hearing to know when the old man was close.

Harry thought for sure that Danni was going to be in trouble now, and there was nothing he could… he got an idea. He was just about to whip off his cloak and claim he had forced the girl to do it, when he realized that Dumbledore didn’t sound angry at all. In fact, he sounded rather pleasant. “Daniella. I’m pleased to see that you decided to take initiative and start on this project right away. It really is imperative that we find the student who was trying to cheat.”

Harry’s eyes widened. The way Dumbledore was talking made it sound like he had no idea who had committed the act of sabotage. But Harry knew by now that the headmaster was always the smartest person in the room. He had to know that it was Danni. Maybe he was trying to teach her some life lesson or something, but the point is that he knew. Because somehow that old man always knew everything.

Danni gulped. “Yes sir. We won’t let the perpetrator stay invisible for much longer. They may run, but we’ll find them, sir.”

Harry realized with a start that Danni was talking to him. Dumbledore chuckled. “Yes, they won’t be able to run. But they might get away with a slow walk, perhaps a tiptoe.” And Harry got the eerie feeling that the older wizard was also talking to him. He wasn’t going to stick around to hear the rest of a conversation that seemed to be directed at him. 

He walked away, as silently and slowly as possible. He saw that the large doors had been left ajar when Dumbledore entered, and the space was just big enough for him to slip through unnoticed. One he was at the end of the hallway, he ran for all he was worth, not slowing down until he was right outside the picture frame that led to the Gryffindor common room.

Once he was back in his bed, still fully clothed, he stopped to think. What if Danni was still angry about him? About what he said earlier? And then to top it off, she probably thinks that he tattled on her. She wasn’t stupid, she had to realize that Dumbledore knows. Harry wondered what exactly she was working on with Dumbledore to help ‘catch’ the student who had cheated.

Then he fell asleep, eager for morning to come. He would volunteer to sit at Danni’s table instead of dragging her back to his, where she had clearly felt uncomfortable. He would listen to everything she had to say, even if she was just in the mood to scream at him. And hopefully, after profusely apologizing, she would realize that he hadn’t meant to hurt her so much with that one suggestive comment.


	9. Danni

Danni didn’t bother checking her surroundings. That was probably her first mistake as she headed outside to enjoy the weekend. She was suddenly slammed into a wall, and found herself being held in place by one boy while two others stood there, grinning.

She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, but before they could even say anything to her, a crowd of people stampeded by. They all wanted to get outside like she did. She took the opportunity to slip away and blend in with the crowd. She didn’t care about that incredibly good timing. She didn’t notice Harry standing around the corner, smiling.

Danni had originally planned with studying with her friends today, but now she wasn’t so sure that she wanted to. After everything she had said yesterday about needing to relax and take a break, she didn’t want to seem like a hypocrite by going right back to studying. So instead, she decided that she would wander the grounds a little, explore. 

She had been a student at that gigantic school for four years now, but she had always been too immersed in her classes to ever actually just take a leisurely walk around. She had an apple and a water bottle that she had grabbed during lunch, so that she would have a snack and a way to stay hydrated.

Most of the students who were racing outside were heading towards the quidditch field. There must be a practice or something going on. But Danni wasn’t particularly in the mood to be around so many people, so she began heading in the opposite direction. She laughed nervously when she realized that she had been walking in the direction of the Forbidden Forest for the past ten minutes. 

She shook her head. No way she was going in there. Then she blushed at the accounts of when Harry had been in the forest. A couple of times at this point. And that just meant that he was braver than her, since he was able to not run away screaming. Danni wasn’t screaming, but she was practically running as she turned to go. She paused though, as she saw the groundskeeper leaving his hut, a little further down.

There was a strange man with him, and Danni frowned. She had walked by Professor Moody’s classroom on her way to freedom, and he had been in there, talking to a small group of students. There was no way he would have been able to get to the hut before her, and have time for any sort of conversation at all, yet there he was. 

She watched as the half giant went back into his hut after saying their goodbyes, though Danni wasn’t close enough to actually hear them. She felt the strange instinct to hide, but that wasn’t right. He was a teacher, and even if he was a little weird, and missing one of his eyes, there was no reason to hide. 

It’s not like she had been specifically eavesdropping or following him around or anything like that. He suddenly glanced her way, and Danni froze in place. He started to walk towards her, and she gulped. His mind was sending out waves of something sinister, and it made Danni shiver. 

She was too scared to even think to read his mind as he got closer. Danni glanced around, but there was no one nearby, not since everyone had gathered on the quidditch fields for some reason. Then, before she could tell herself not to, she was off. She sprinted as fast as she could back to where everyone else was gathered. She heard pounding steps behind her, and realized with shock that she was being chased. Danni felt a sudden wave of thankfulness that she had been on the track team at her school before she had gone to Hogwarts. She had been keeping in shape and practicing running on her own since entering the magic school, and it was clear that she was faster than the teacher who was pursuing her. 

Danni ran for several minutes before she could hear the loud buzz that all crowds seemed to make. After what seemed like forever, but was really only another minute, she got to the field, and once again immersed herself in the crowd. She slowed down immediately so that she could blend in easier. As her adrenaline continued pumping, it took her awhile to regain control and block out the sea of internal voices that were berating her mind.

She took deep breaths to calm her breathing. That had been scary. The way the Professor’s mind had felt, without even reading his thoughts, was definitely wrong. It was nothing like it usually was whenever she was in his class. It was almost like it was a different person. Then she laughed nervously to herself. That would just be impossible, wouldn’t it?


	10. Harry

Harry watched curiously as he saw the brunette’s head bobbing through the crowd. He had been disappointed before, when she hadn’t shown up, even though no one outside of Gryffindor had been invited to the unofficial house meeting. Tons of other kids had shown up anyways. They all wanted to know why the meeting had been called. Harry noticed that Danni’s face was flushed, and he chuckled. Had she run all the way here?

Then he turned to pay attention to the upperclassmen who were standing in the bleachers so they could be seen over everyone else. One of them was holding the magical bullhorn that was used to make the announcements during a quidditch game. The first one to speak was a kid Harry recognized as a seventh year, Darnell. “I’m so glad so many people showed up. Was not expecting word to spread outside of Gryffindor at all. At all.” he chuckled. “Well, I’m here now to talk to you all about this event called the triwizard tournament. It only takes place every five years. We’re not sure exactly how, but one of us will be chosen to represent all of Hogwarts. We thought that everyone deserved a fair chance to know that. So do your best to impress your professors in any way possible if you want to be that one.”

One of the other kids grabbed the bullhorn. “What my friend forgot to mention is that you have to be at least seventeen years old to be chosen. So I thought that we should all work together and chose one of us. We can’t remember exactly how the choosing works, since we were only second years when we last witnessed it. But if we all band together to choose one contestant, that person is more likely to be chosen.”

Some random student in the crowd shouted out. “What exactly is this tournament?”

Darnell took the bullhorn back. “It’s a competition between us and two other schools, and you compete in some challenges to earn points to win the triwizard cup for your school. It’s a very big deal.”

Harry began pushing his way through the thick crowd as more students shouted out questions, and the older students fumbled to remember the details of the tournament. They said that it had been held one of the other schools last time, and only the sixth and seventh years at the time had been allowed to go, so the students who had been younger at the time couldn’t watch the events.

Harry didn’t really care. What was the point if he wasn’t even old enough to be in it? And since it was only every five years, he would never get another chance after this. He shoved his way through the mass of people, and it took forever to get to Danni, who had placed herself in the center of the thickest knot of students.

He came up behind her, and put one hand on her shoulder. She spun around so fast it was like she was expecting a ghost to attack her or something. Not that the ghosts were really known for attacking people. Her eyes were wide, and she was practically panting. Harry cocked his head to the side, as if to ask her what was wrong.

She shook her head, and turned back to the excited kids on the bleachers. He wasn’t taking no for an answer. Something had obviously spooked her, and to Harry’s surprise, he actually wanted to know what. He was honestly interested. He grabbed her arm, perhaps a little more forcefully than necessary, and tugged her away.

Danni was small, and even though she was excellent at running, she wasn’t strong enough to resist Harry. And he almost thought part of her looked relieved that he was being persistent. He pulled her outside, and raised his eyebrows. It was almost eerily silent. He had never noticed before that the walls of the field were sound proof, since he was always within the stands whenever other people were there.

He breathed out with mock annoyance. “So? What’s up?”

Danni shrugged, even as she craned her neck to peer around in every direction, like she was afraid that they had been followed or something. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Harry shook his head. “Come on, I can tell that something’s wrong. And if you don’t tell me now, I will bother you until the end of time. So come on, spill. What’s got you looking like you’re about to die.”

She gulped, and opened her mouth, and Harry smiled to himself. She was about to share, and that thought made him illogically happy for some reason. But then her eyes widened even more, if that was possible, and she took a sharp breath. Harry turned, and saw Professor Moody hobbling up to the stands.

Before he could really see them, Danni grabbed Harry’s arm, and he was taken by surprise. She yanked him around the corner, and plastered herself flat against the canvas wall. She was forcing herself to take quieter breaths, and she motioned for Harry to do the same. He sighed. Maybe she was just crazy, and that was the end of it.

Curiously, he looked around the corner. The guy was gingerly looking inside the stadium, like he was afraid it was going to bite off his head or something. Harry turned back to Danni, to tell her that it was just a harmless teacher, and he frowned. She had closed her eyes, and her face looked more peaceful than he had ever seen it. Her head was tilted to the side, like she was trying to hear something better. 

She opened her eyes suddenly, and Harry saw a familiar look. They were completely filled with fear. Her breathing sped up, and she put a finger over her lips to tell Harry to be silent. He was so confused. Why was she suddenly so utterly frightened? But if she really wanted him to comply, he would. How else would he prove that he’s not such a bad person?

After a few minutes, Danni let a whoosh of air out of her mouth. She looked at Harry, and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “I’m… I’m really sorry about that. I’m not usually that weird, it’s just…”

“Just what?”

Danni shook her head. “Nothing. Sorry, but I have to go. I’ll see you later, okay?”

And then she was off, before Harry could question her further about what had just happened. He looked around, and saw that the crazy teacher had already wandered off. He wanted to go after Danni, but he was cut off by the crowd spilling out from the stadium. If he knew how many times this crowd had saved Danni, he would have been unnerved by its constant perfect timing.


	11. Danni

Danni felt bad for running off on Harry earlier. But that person who was lumbering around looking like their crazy Professor was definitely not Mad-Eye Moody. She had taken the opportunity to read the guy’s mind, and it had been a mess. Danni had figured out a long time ago that the crazier people thought in flashes of images rather than words. There were people being viciously murdered, and children screaming, and some kind of trial. There was Harry in several different situations, and a large gleaming silver goblet. with a blue fire floating in the middle.

The images had all flashed by so quickly, and the swirl of colors had made her feel nauseous. Even though there was probably more she could have learned, she couldn’t stand to stay in the mind for even a moment more. Right now, she was just standing awkwardly outside the place that had opened into Dumbledore’s office before.

She had gone straight to her room after running away from Harry, but all those scary muddy thoughts were still hanging around in her brain, and she thought she would never forget them. She wanted desperately to tell the old man that there was a twisted imposter running around the school, who had nefarious plans for Harry Potter. And if the picture of the death mark she had seen meant anything, the guy definitely wasn’t working alone.

But right now she was in the middle of a giant moral dilemma. If she said something, and it turned out to be false, though she doubted that would be the case, she would look ridiculous. If she said something and the imposter figured out who told on him, he could try to hurt her. If she said something and wanted Dumbledore to believe her, she would have to share her precious secret.

On the other hand, if she said nothing, and the Professor was a mentally disturbed man, he could actually hurt himself or someone else. If she said nothing and it was an evil imposter, he could get away with his evil plan that would result in Harry’s death. If she said nothing and it was an evil imposter, then she was basically just straight up helping him. 

Danni really couldn’t see any ways for this to be a successful conversation. She began to back away from the wall as she felt her stomach twisting into knots. She didn’t want to talk to the old guy anyways, since that was just another chance for him to discover that she was the one who had tried to sabotage the house points.

She groaned with frustration. She hadn’t really despised her gift in a while, not since she had learned to control it and use it for her needs. But right now, it felt like a terrible curse. If she was just a normal girl then she wouldn’t have seen those spooky thoughts, and she wouldn’t be awkwardly hovering outside Dumbledore’s office. She shook her head, and turned away. 

Danni shrugged it off. Maybe she had just imagined the whole thing, since she was already full of adrenaline from running away from the guy. She knew logically that she shouldn’t have even been able to feel the guy’s presence from so far away when he had been standing in Hagrid’s doorway. 

She turned around, almost expecting to bump into the headmaster. The man seemed to have a natural talent for popping up where he was least expected. But there was no one there. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Even hours after catching those glimpses of the imposter’s mind, she was still shivering.

Danni began walking as quickly as she could. She didn’t even care where, as long as it was away from the wise old man. She knew it was cowardly, but she had never promised that she would be brave. She took a sharp breath. She had always hated Harry behind his back, since in her eyes, he didn’t deserve the attention and praise and fame that he had. He never would have succeeded on his own. But that was unimportant.

How had Danni never realized how brave Harry must be? He had gone through more in fifteen years than most people could go through in two lifetimes. She shuddered. Like most people, she only knew the main details of Harry Potter’s adventures, but even those she could never imagine herself in. She really was a coward. Why had she never seen that before?

Danni sighed, and found her feet bringing her towards the area she knew held the Gryffindor dorm entrance. That was weird. How did her subconscious expect her to get in? Each house had a different hidden entrance and a password, and it’s not like Danni was magically the expert on guessing entrances and passwords. Then she paused.

She didn’t have to be an expert. She just had to find someone who was. She began walking quicker when she saw a flash of red and yellow. She made sure to stay a safe distance behind them as she read their minds. The tall one Danni vaguely recognized from that unofficial meeting earlier, but she had been more focused on staying alive than paying attention. 

The pair stopped in front of a large painting of a very big woman. She grinned at them, and they both rolled their eyes. Danni was far enough away that she wouldn’t be able to hear them out loud, since she didn’t want to get caught. Some words were exchanged, but they just sounded like a muffled murmur to Danni. “Quid Agis.”

The painted lady nodded, and the portrait swung away from the wall to reveal what looked like a cramped hallway. Danni watched, and waited until the painting was settled back on the wall. She wasn’t sure exactly what she hoped to accomplish by gaining access to the Gryffindor common rooms, but her legs gave her no choice in the matter.

She found herself staring at the painting, and the fat lady raised one eyebrow. “May I help you?” she asked in a high pitched sing-song tone.

“Yeah, I need to get into the common room. I know this is where it is.”

The lady looked suspiciously at Danni’s blue and silver robes. Danni sighed, and decided that right now would be a good time to just walk away. Instead, she thought that now would be the perfect time to discover whether or not she could read the minds of the painting subjects, since they were technically living beings, and Danni could read animals, so why not pictures on the wall?

“I wonder which idiot was telling people where to find the common rooms. I hope this doesn’t end up like last year’s incident. That was terrifying.”

Danni cleared her throat. “The thing is, I’m actually in Gryffindor.” she tried to make her voice sound as confident as possible, with a little bit of shame. “I was working on various spells, and I think I mispronounced one of them, and the next thing I know, I look like this.” she gestured at herself. “My robes got completely destroyed, so this girl lent me her robes, and she happens to be in Ravenclaw.”

The lady still looked extremely suspicious, but a little sympathetic. “That sounds like the kind of thing to happen to Seamus. He’s such a clumsy little oaf.” “I still don’t recognize you.”

Danni tried to look a little insulted, and a little hurt. “It’s me, Seamus. It’s not my fault the spell went wrong, I swear I did everything the way I was supposed to… but… Well. The professor assured me that it wouldn’t be permanent and advised me to go back to my room until it wears off.”

The lady sighed, but she really didn’t see any particularly alarming holes in that story. “Fine. What’s the password?”

“Quid Agis.”

The woman nodded, and the portrait swung away from the wall. Danni had to refrain from letting out a big sigh of relief. She entered the hallway, and heard the painting cover the wall again. She took a couple cautious steps forward, and found herself staring into the bustling Gryffindor common room.

She couldn’t just get up and cross the room. Even if not everyone in the same house knew each other, they would still know that they had never seen her before. And she was still wearing Ravenclaw robes. But she really needed someone to talk to, and since it seemed to revolve around him, like everything else in the universe, Harry seemed like the person to talk to.

But she couldn’t stand around in the doorway forever, either. Someone was bound to leave or come in, and they would catch her sulking in the shadows. That wouldn’t work out. So she stepped out, and skirted the furniture around the fireplace, where most of the people were standing or sitting and talking and laughing. 

She kept her head down so no one would see her, and walked at a steady pace so that she wouldn’t catch someone’s attention with a sudden movement. She carefully kept her mind open so that she would know if anyone saw her. She felt the alarm in her mind triggered almost immediately. She hadn’t even spotted Harry yet, and she had already been caught.


	12. Harry

Harry ran a hand through his messy hair. No matter what he did, it refused to stay put. He shrugged. It was a school wide meeting, so there was no reason that he had to make himself look better. Except to impress Danni, his subconscious whispered to him. He shrugged it off. If she happened to bump into him to explain her crazy behavior, then Harry would listen, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to seek her out.

Everyone was already gathered in the common room, presumably to start heading out to the meeting. From what Darnell had said earlier, he had a gut feeling that the headmaster would want to talk to them about the tournament. Then he noticed that everyone seemed to be gathered around one central point opposite the fireplace. That was unusual.

He pushed his way through, leaving his friends to fend for themselves if they wanted to make it through the crowd of Gryffindors. Finally, he was able to see what everyone was staring at. There was Danni, standing right there in the Gryffindor common room. That was impossible, of course, no one would let some Ravenclaw in.

But she was smart and resourceful and if she wanted something, she was clearly willing to get it. But what had she been trying to get from the Gryffindor common room? A tiny voice in the back of his head mentioned that maybe she had been looking for him. He did his best to suppress the idea, but it had already formed into a full thought. 

She looked around, and it made Harry think of a trapped animal. Then she saw him, and grinned. She slinked over and grabbed one of his hands. Harry could tell that she was forcing herself to look excited, even though she probably wasn’t. He knew it was an act as soon as she started gushing. “Harry, it’s been too long. You know I adore being in your company, but so much work came up.” She grinned at him… seductively?

Then it hit Harry that she was using the rumors about her (the ones that he had inadvertently started) to her own advantage. There were some whistles and soft catcalls and Danni somehow wrapped herself around Harry in a way that left him no room to escape. He decided to play along. It’s not like he could really make the situation worse, and it would definitely earn him some brownie points.

“Of course, I understand. You couldn’t even find a little bit of time for me…” he tried to make himself sound mock disappointed.

Danni chuckled. “You know I would have made the time if I had even gotten half a second off from my work.”

Harry grabbed her arm and tugged her away, satisfied that they had convinced everyone why Danni was here, and also a little disappointed that his own friends believed that bullshit so easily. He tugged Danni to his room, since it was empty now, and motioned for everyone else to leave ahead of them. 

Danni bit her lip nervously, and Harry couldn’t help it when his eyes were drawn to the motion. He shook his head. “So? Are you here to apologize for that weirdness earlier?”

Danni hesitated, then shook her head. “No. I’m here about something else. I was almost afraid that I got in for nothing, I thought that maybe you weren’t here. Where’s everyone else going, anyways?”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Well, about half an hour ago, all the housemasters visited their students to inform them of some giant meeting. It’s probably about that contest that the older students were talking about earlier. You must have missed the announcement. How did you get in here, anyways?”

Danni grinned. “Magic.” then she frowned. “But seriously, I have to talk to you.”

Harry sat down on his bed, and patted the empty space next to him. Danni plopped down next to him, and the bed made for only one person tilted into the middle, forcing the two to squish together. She took a deep breath, and looked uncertain of where to start. Harry thought that maybe she needed some prompting. “What did you want to talk about? Does it have to do with whatever happened earlier?”

Danni nodded. “Remember how… Professor Moody… was there?” Harry nodded, so she continued. “Well, that wasn’t him. It was an imposter or something. Maybe he used that polyjuice potion stuff, or maybe he’s just really good at appearance altering spells, I don’t really know. He wants to hurt you, using the contest somehow, and he’s probably working with You-Know-Who. You can do whatever you want with that information.” She spoke quickly, like she couldn’t wait any longer for the words to be expelled from her mouth.

She looked ready to leave as soon as she was finished talking, and Harry grabbed her arm. “Hey, you can’t just tell me something like that and then leave. Why would you even think that that’s true? Do you have proof?”

Danni sighed with frustration. She was hiding something, and she had obviously been hoping that Harry would be too shocked with the actual information to care about how she got it. But Harry wasn’t going to let anything pass when it came to Voldemort. That guy was serious, and an accusation like that needed some kind of evidence to back it up.

Danni’s voice was too quiet to hear, so she cleared her throat, and barely raised her volume. “The truth is, I know because I saw what he was thinking about. I saw it because I read his mind. Because that’s the truth. I can read minds.”


	13. Danni

Danni winced as she looked at Harry, preparing for his reaction. But she didn’t expect his non reaction. He was staring at her blankly, one eyebrow slightly elevated above the other. “Is this a joke?”

Danni shook her head miserably. “No, I wish it was. Do you think I like having everyone’s thoughts pushing and shoving their way into my head? Do you think I’m happy that there’s an evil Moody imposter running around? Because I don’t, and I’m not. Right now you have two options. You can choose to believe me, or you can choose to believe that I’m crazy. I don’t care, if you don’t want to listen to me, I’ll just find another way to save your stupid butt.”

They sat there for what seemed like hours before Harry spoke again. “Prove it, and I’ll believe you.”

Danni smiled with relief. If he was willing to let her prove it, then she would. “Fine. Just, um, think of a number between negative infinity and infinity.”

Harry shrugged. “I’m not sure that negative infinity is a thing.” But he closed his mouth to think of his number. “I’m not even going to think of a number. I’m just going to think of… the color red. Red, red, red, red, red…”

Danni shook her head. “I don’t think red is a number.”

Harry shrugged. “Lucky guess.”

“Okay, think of the most random thing you can imagine.”

“A giant, polka-dotted, tap dancing, harmonica playing, green and neon pink striped snow leopard hippopotamus leech butt, with thirty two eyes and sixty seven antlers.” Danni repeated the thought word for word, and Harry couldn’t help letting his mouth slip open, just a tiny bit. “But that’s impossible. There’s no spells for reading minds.”

 

Danni shrugged. “It’s not a spell. I’ve been able to hear peoples’ thoughts since the day I was born, according to my parents, anyways. They always told me to keep it a secret. She said that people, muggles or wizards, fear what they don’t have or understand. No one else can read minds, so if it was discovered, I would be feared. And fear leads to destruction, or something like that.”

Harry breathed out. Suddenly, he sounded suspicious. “Have you read my mind?”

Danni shook her head. “Right now today is the first time I’ve ever read your mind.”

Harry nodded, satisfied. Danni was relieved that he believed her, since it was the truth. “How come you’ve never read my mind before?”

Danni shrugged. “I was being stubborn.” She didn’t want to elaborate on the fact that she hadn’t wanted more ammunition to hold against him. Thinking back, she probably should have held the same rule for his friends.

Harry nodded, accepting that as well. “Well. I guess this means that there’s an evil Moody imposter running around?”

Danni nodded. “Yeah.”

“So… we should probably tell Dumbledore, right? I me-”

Danni stood up, shaking her head. “No, no way. You can’t tell anyone. You have to promise. If you tell them about the evil doppelganger, they’ll want to know how you know, and you would have to tell them about me. You have to promise not to tell anyone, ever. Promise!”

Her voice was shrill, and Harry gave her a hurt look, like it was insulting to believe that he would tell anyone without her permission. “Okay, here’s the deal. If you want me to not tell anyone, then you have to add another couple of weeks to our original deal.”

Danni sighed with exasperation. “Oh come on, you’re not serious, are you?”

Harry shook his head. “Nope, just kidding. I promise I won’t tell anyone your divine secret. But in exchange, you have to promise to never read my mind.”

Danni nodded. It wasn’t difficult to agree to the terms when she never had any plans to read his mind in the first place. “Deal.”

He stood up and wrapped his hand around Danni’s in a casual manner. “Now, I believe there is a school meeting that we should attend. We wouldn’t want to be late, people might start to talk.”

Danni laughed. “Oh who cares. Let them talk. It doesn’t matter, none of them are as interesting as you.”

Harry smiled. “You think I’m interesting?”

Danni blushed, and pushed him away. “No way. I still hate you.” But her words didn’t have the same harsh sting that they had held just a couple of days ago. Harry held tightly onto her hand, and she didn’t try to pull away. They left the dorms, and walked to the Great Hall together, hand in hand. There were still students crowding outside the doors to get in, so the pair wasn’t that late.

Once they were in view of other people, Danni tried to take her hand back, but Harry stopped her. “Let them talk, remember? Who cares?”

And Danni couldn’t help feeling comforted by his words. She had no idea that Harry was frightened. He believed her about the mind reading thing, so by proxy he believed her about the evil Moody. But he couldn’t handle this situation on his own, not even with Danni’s help. He needed to talk to someone. And Dumbledore was a trustworthy figure, despite what doubts were in Danni’s mind. 

He was glad that she had promised not to read his mind. Because then she would see that he was going to talk. He had to tell Dumbledore, the situation was too serious not to. Someone could get seriously hurt or even killed if there was a death eater running around in disguise or something. He just hoped that Danni would see it the same way he did if she ever were to find out.


	14. Harry

Harry breathed out. The school meeting had just been about the tournament, same as the unofficial house meeting. It had a little more information and was from a more reliable source, though. It was a little disappointing to not be able to put his name in the goblet. It would be awesome to get to represent the school and prove how awesome he is.

He had whispered an excuse to Danni, and slipped out as soon as the meeting was over. He hurried to where he knew the staircase to Dumbledore’s office would be, and was let in as soon as he arrived. He was only kept waiting for a couple minutes until the headmaster arrived. He sat in his seat behind the desk, and gestured for Harry to take the chair opposite him.

“Ah, Harry. You seem agitated. Something on your mind?”

Harry gulped. He was about to betray Danni’s trust, after he had just earned it. But his feelings weren’t all that was at stake. Every person in the entire school was in danger. There was no way of knowing exactly what this imposter wanted, other than something that involved himself. And that thought was a little frightening. 

And Dumbledore was trusting. He wouldn’t mention Danni, just say that he knew, and then leave it to the powerful wizard to deal with the situation. He took a deep breath. As long as he didn’t mention Danni, there was no reason for her to get mad at him, right? Plus, she promised not to read her mind, so it would be unlikely that she would ever find out.

“Well, sir, I know this is going to sound a little unbelievable, but I think- I know that something’s happened to Professor Moody. It’s like he’s not even him anymore, and he’s been acting kind of… suspiciously lately.”

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. “And what suspicious behaviors do you have to report?”

Harry sighed. “Well, um, he, I’m not really sure how to describe it…”

Dumbledore frowned, and Harry felt his heart pounding. The professor had always taken his side and believed him before, so there was no reason to doubt him this time, right? Or maybe Dumbledore thought that he was crazy, and was just trying to think of the most polite way to kick the student out of his office.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Since he couldn’t tell the headmaster everything without his story leading back to Danni, he just sounded like an over imaginative paranoid kid. But Dumbledore seemed to know everything that happened in Hogwarts, so it was possible that he already knew about the crazy evil imposter guy.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by the screeching coming from the hallways.


	15. Danni

Danni looked around nervously. She had never expected Harry to grow on her so much. But as much as it didn’t immediately seem like a bad thing, she knew that deep down, it was. Danni had always told herself that she hated Harry because he was arrogant and entitled, and he never really did anything for himself. It was easy to think that that was the full truth. But the real reason she hated Harry? It was too painful to remind herself of.

But now it seemed like a necessary pain. There was no way that she could actually allow herself to fall for Harry, if that’s what was happening. And Danni had a strong suspicion that it was. Danni closed her eyes, and finally let one of her most painful memories surface.

It was when she was just a little kid. Her aunt had always been her idol, her role model, the one she took all her cues from. She had been very close with her aunt, in some ways closer than she was with her own mother. This particular memory was at one of her birthday parties.

She remembered eating cake and opening presents and laughing with all of her friends. Since she had grown up going to muggle school, even though her family knew she was a witch, most of her childhood friends were muggles. Her parents were in the house while the party was in the backyard. Danni had been the one who insisted she was old enough to hang out with her friends in the backyard. 

Her kind, beautiful aunt who had never missed a single important event in Danni’s entire life hadn’t shown up to the party yet. As it got later in the day, the guests began to go home, one by one. And finally, hourse after the cleanup was done, her aunt showed up. She said that she needed to talk to Danni’s parents alone, and they sent her to her room to play with her new toys.

But Danni had always been the rebellious type. She snuck back downstairs, and stood on the last step where the adults wouldn’t be able to spot her. She listened in to the conversation. Her aunt, Judy, and her parents began talking, and it took her a little bit to understand. Judy was part of some group she called the ‘death eaters’ or something. And Danni’s parents seemed to agree with this group, whoever they were. 

They talked a lot about politics, and it really bored Danni. So she quietly went back to her room, and pretended like she’d been in there the whole time when her parents checked on her. At the time, she didn’t know why that memory would be so painful. But once Danni was older, she learned about the Death Eaters. Before she was exposed to them through media because of their outrageous actions, her brother left home to join the group.

Danni felt left out. She had always been the one so close to Judy, and now it was Jacob who had something that he shared with her. Danni decided then that she would become a Death Eater when she was old enough. It wasn’t until later that she learned about all the bad things that the Death Eaters did. And it completely broke her heart, to know that her precious aunt, and her brother, were part of a group so evil. 

She had read about Harry Potter in her research of the Death Eaters. And it was so much easier to believe that he was the bad guy, like Judy said, rather than believe that Judy was evil. Of course, she knew deep down that it was wrong to hate someone she had never met, to use them as a scapegoat for her anger, which is why she pretended that wasn’t the reason. She tricked herself into thinking she hated him for such shallow reasons. 

So that’s why she couldn’t fall for Harry. That would be like a direct betrayal of her aunt. Danni was glad that no one could read her thoughts as easily as she could theirs. Then they would see what she knew. There was a reason that she never went to the quidditch world cup, even though she had wanted to so much. It was because her aunt had told her to stay away if she didn’t want to endanger herself.

It was kind of funny, but not even Judy knew about Danni’s ability to read minds. She didn’t know about that time Danni reached in and plucked out her thoughts. And Danni had seen regret, and sadness in her aunt’s mind. Sad that her master was gone, and it was Harry’s fault. He was the one who made you-know-who disappear, and that meant that he was the one who made Judy so sad.

And that’s why Danni didn’t tell anyone, even when she knew that the Death Eaters would be attacking. She told herself that it was justified, but she secretly knew that many people had died because of her. Innocent people who had nothing to do with Harry. And then there was the matter of the Mad-Eye Moody imposter.

If they were truly after Harry, a Death Eater most likely, then should she really get involved? If they just took out Harry, then all her problems would be over, and maybe Judy wouldn’t be sad anymore. Not that she had ever shown her sadness to Danni, but the young witch had seen it there.

But… there was something that made Danni hesitate. She felt a strange flutter in her stomach at the thought of Harry dying. She shook her head. She had never read Harry’s mind, because she was afraid that if she did, she would see that he was innocent. And that wouldn’t do. It was unfortunate, but it wasn’t Danni’s place to interfere.

She wondered where Harry had wandered off to. He had ditched her pretty quickly as soon as that meeting was over, and that was kind of a rude thing to do. She began to walk towards the Ravenclaw common room. Maybe some of her friends would be there. She shivered. What would people think if they knew everything about her? From her mind reading to her indirect association with Death Eaters, they were sure to hate her.

And Harry would too. And that brought a sinking feeling to her. She didn’t want Harry to hate her. But it was okay to continue hating him? None of this made any sense, and Danni wasn’t sure what to do. She sighed as she walked. Maybe it would be best to just do nothing at all. To leave things to fate, not that she believed in such things.


	16. Harry

Harry jumped up, and followed Dumbledore out into the hallway. People were running down the hallway, and Snape and McGonagall were both shoving students out of the way as they practically ran to Dumbledore’s office. The headmaster gestured for the two professors to enter his office, and swept Harry aside. Harry turned and left. Maybe this was a sign that he shouldn’t tell Dumbledore after all.

But he was curious about what had happened. He started heading towards the infirmary. That was where he could find information if someone had been injured. But for those two house masters to be so worried, that was scary. McGonagall and Snape were very strong, and for them to be nervous made Harry nervous.

He stopped at the end of the hallway before he could get to the infirmary. He spotted professors standing outside the room with guarded expressions. They wouldn’t be standing there that way they were unless they were guarding the room behind them. Harry turned the corner before they could spot him.

So he wouldn’t be able to figure out what had happened, not on his own anyways. He headed towards the general area that he thought he would be able to find the Ravenclaw common room. After searching for a while, he gave up and decided to head to the Great Hall. He had already met Danni there on so many occasions.

As he was walking towards the large hall, he saw a group of girlsl in blue and bronze making their way through the halls with purposeful strides. Harry decided to follow. Maybe these girls would lead him to Danni. They went into an empty classroom, and he cautiously peered in. The girls all sat down and surrounded Danni in what looked like a comforting group hug.

They were all cooing words of reassurance and comfort, and Harry noted the tears on her face with an uncomfortable clenching in his stomach. “Thanks you guys, you’re the best.”

“Of course, honey. We wouldn’t let you sit here and be sad all on your own. Will you tell us what happened?”

Danni sniffled, and then her head shot up. She rubbed her eyes with her palms, and extracted herself from her friends to stand up. “Will you hold on a second? I just need some air.” Harry turned to walk away, but Danni grabbed the back of his robes. “What are you doing here?” She hissed at him.

He pulled away from her and shrugged. “How did you know I was here?”

“I can sense the presence of people without actually reading their thoughts. Were you following me?”

Harry shook his head. “I followed those other girls. I was looking for you. I need your help with something.”

“What?”

Harry shivered. He couldn’t help feeling like something was wrong. Danni’s voice sounded cold, the way it had when they first met. He had just been making progress, what had he done to upset her now? “Umm, I don’t know if you’ve heard about it or not, but something happened. Just a little while ago. I went to the infirmary to see if I could find out about anything, but they’re not letting anyone in there.”

Danni’s eyes narrowed. She kept her voice low so that the girls inside the classroom wouldn’t hear the topic of the conversation. “You want me to go there and read some minds? Are you crazy? What if the teachers have some kind of mental defence and they know that I’m violating their thoughts and they try to kill me?”

Harry had to stifle a laugh. Now wasn’t the time. “Well, in the past have you ever noticed anything that distinguishes a teacher’s mind from a student’s?”

Danni shook her head slowly. “Well… no. How close can you get me?”

Harry tried not to grin. “The end of the hallway. Is that enough?”

Danni raised one eyebrow. “Yeah, it’s plenty close, which makes it plenty suspicious. We should go to wherever is directly below the infirmary. A floor isn’t going to stop me from being able to read minds.”

Harry smiled. “This is why you’re the one in Ravenclaw.”

Danni sighed. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just find out whether it would be best to go to the floor above or the floor below. I need to get back to my friends before they worry.” Harry noticed that she emphasized the word ‘friend’, but he didn’t say anything. He watched as she went back into the classroom and fell into the many armed embrace.

Harry left, and went back to his dorm room. There would be no point in actually walking around blindly, trying to figure out where to go. He got back to his room, and to his relief, it was empty. He opened the trunk at the foot of his bed and rummaged around a little bit. He found a rolled up piece of parchment, and pulled it out. When he unrolled it, it was a large map.

He found the infirmary on the map, and skimmed over the areas around it. He decided that the floor below was too close to classrooms for comfort, but above, there was a stretch of bare hallway. He rolled the map back up, placed it back into the trunk, and left to go get Danni. He had seen her name was still in that empty classroom, and went back the way he had come from.

When he got there, Danni was already waiting out in the hallway. She didn’t smile, but she didn’t seem quite as cold towards him as she had before. “I think it would be best to approach this from the floor above.”

She nodded. “You know, I was surprised to feel you coming back so soon. I would have thought that surveying the land would have taken more time. Well, let’s go.”

They went to the area that Harry had figured out was directly above the infirmary. He stepped back, not wanting to crowd Danni. She closed her eyes for a moment, and Harry didn’t say anything, not wanting to break her concentration, or whatever it is she was doing. 

She frowned, and turned to look back at Harry. “What did you say happened?”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know, I was just in D-... hanging around, and I heard someone scream.”

She gave him a hard look, but when she didn’t question that, Harry assumed that she didn’t read his mind, since she had promised. “Well you made it sound so urgent. From what I can tell, someone messed up during potions class, spilled some boiling hazard on their hands, and got some third degree burns But they’re already being patched up.”

Harry sighed. “Oh. Who was it?”

Danni frowned again. “I’m not going to tell you. You’ll just make fun of them for being so clumsy.”

She began to walk away, and Harry reached out to grab her arm. “Wait. We need to talk. Why are you suddenly acting so distant? This morning, I thought…”

Danni’s face softened a little. “Well… it’s complicated. I guess that’s the best answer that I can give you. You know how much I hated you just a few days ago. Well, I don’t hate you that much anymore.”

Harry grinned. “Good, because I don’t hate you that much either.”

Danni gulped, and tugged her arm free. Harry could see the red blush spreading across her face. “I have to go.” And she hurried away. Harry felt a strange wave of happiness rush through him, and he was pretty sure that he knew why.


	17. Danni

Danni sighed as she hurried away. She could feel her cheeks burning, and she knew that they must be bright red. This was crazy. She was supposed to hate Harry Potter, instead, she was feeling the opposite of that. She shook her head. She was definitely not in love. That would impossible, since they had only met a few days ago.

She returned to the Ravenclaw dorm room. She needed to talk to her aunt. Maybe… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to not hate Harry. He had yet to do anything to her (aside from that innuendo out in the courtyard) that should make her hate him. But it was risky. Her aunt had told her a few years ago, back when she first got her letter from Hogwarts, not to write to her unless it was an emergency. Did this whole situation count as an emergency? 

Danni was interrupted from her thoughts by another Ravenclaw. She had an annoyed scowl on her face, and didn’t mind letting Danni see her disapproval. “You have a visitor.”

Danni left the common room, and found Harry pacing back and forth down the hallway. He glanced up when he heard her footsteps. “You know, I think one of my roommates is jealous that she’s not the one getting called upon by the famous Harry Potter. What do you want again so soon?”

Harry shrugged. “I just want to talk. Is that okay?”

Danni narrowed her eyes, but she really couldn’t think of a valid excuse for turning away. She was tempted to read his mind to see what he wanted to talk about, but she knew she couldn’t break their deal. “What do you want to talk about?”

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. He looked a lot more tired than he had less than an hour ago. “Please?”

Danni sighed, then nodded. “I guess.”

He grabbed her arm with a smile. “Good. Not here though, too many people could be listening.”

Danni laughed. “Paranoid much? Are we discussing something that could be troublesome? What could have possibly came up so soon after we parted?”

Harry didn’t respond, just pulled Danni with him to the nearest empty classroom. He closed the door and then turned to face Danni, whose hand he was still clutching. He let go, and took a step back. “Listen. It’s about the Moody imposter. He could be someone really dangerous in disguise. You heard about what happened during the Quidditch Cup over the summer, and those were the death eaters. They don’t care if they hurt innocent people, in fact they revel in it.”

Danni felt a bit sick. It was one thing for her to hate what her aunt and brother were a part of, but it was another thing to hear someone else talk about. Especially someone who had been the focus of their terror. She gulped. “I know.”

Harry gave her a funny look, but continued. “If there really is a death eater running around Hogwarts with free rein, a lot of people could get hurt. I think that it would be selfish for you to refuse to tell anyone what you know. You could save a lot of people, and maybe nobody would care that you can read minds.”

Danni sniffed. “Of course they care. I could promise not to ever read their minds, but sometimes I slip. And they might not feel anything, but they’ll always be suspicious. They won’t want to be near someone who could know all of their deepest secrets.”

Harry frowned. “Well, as long as they don’t think about their deepest secrets, it should be fine, right?”

Danni shook her head. “It’s not just surface thoughts. I can pick up almost anything. And if that gets out, no one will trust me ever again.”

Harry made his voice soft. “I trust you.”

Danni stared at him, a little disbelieving. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. If you trust me, then prove it. Let me read your mind. Anything I see in there is fair game, but I promise not to cross any boundaries that you set.”

Harry hesitated. Danni thought for a moment that he was going to refuse her. Then this would all be over, and she would go back to living like she always had before she met him. But she saw something in his bright green eyes, something like regret. Then he nodded firmly. “Alright. I trust you. You can… you can read my mind.”

Danni’s eyes widened in surprise. He was actually going to let her slip into his head, with only her word to say that she wouldn’t look anything he didn’t want her to? She wanted to take it back, and change her mind. She didn’t want to see everything that made him who he was. She knew instinctively that if she saw the good in him, she wouldn’t be able to hate him anymore.

She closed her eyes, and didn’t care if Harry did the same. It didn’t take much effort, he was standing right there, but it took an extra nudge that wouldn’t be necessary if he wasn’t already steeling his mind against hers. But then she was in. Right now, she wasn’t just reading his thoughts, she was fully immersing herself in his mind. The interior of everyone’s mind looked very different. She found herself in what looked like a long corridor

There were rows of doors, each leading to different memories and emotions. Some were black, others were a normal wooden brown. She noticed a few that had keep out signs on them. She had to prove herself trustworthy, so she avoided them. She pushed open the first door that she found, and it was a black one.

Inside, she saw a younger version of Harry. He was looking in a tall mirror, and his reflection moved independent of him. It slipped something into his pocket, and when Harry reached into his pocket, he pulled out a red stone. Danni frowned as Harry turned around, and there was Professor Quirrell. She remembered him from their first year, he had always been a bit of a nut. And under strange circumstances, he had left his position, just like all the other defence against the dark arts teachers they had had.

She left, and stepped into another room, this time with a plain brown door. Inside, she saw the younger Harry, ecstatic to finally have found a place where he belonged. Her heart broke a little at that. It seemed the black doors were bad and the brown doors were good.

There was one brown door that was glowing, located right next to a black door with a big keep out sign. She went in the brown one, and saw herself, messing with the rubies. When she saw her face, she looked beautiful, way prettier than the average girl that she saw when she looked in the mirror. And there was a feeling of complete trust, and Danni couldn’t look anymore. She left the memory, and left his mind.

She sighed. “Alright, I believe you. But Dumbledore, he’ll be the only person to find out, you understand?”

He nodded with relief. “Of course.”


	18. Harry

Harry couldn’t help glancing back at Danni every few steps. He was afraid that she would change her mind and run away, and then he would be stuck explaining everything to Dumbledore on his own. He knew that it was a big deal for Danni to agree to tell, and he didn’t want to push it, but he couldn’t help being nervous that she would back out after all. 

Once they were standing outside the headmaster’s office, Harry took a deep breath. He turned to look at Danni, and she was staring dully ahead, like she wasn’t even paying attention to her surroundings. The hidden door slid away, and Harry tugged Danni forward, onto the moving staircase. It brought them up, and Harry was getting nervous. Danni was going to back out any moment for sure, and then he would sound crazy when he tried to explain things.

They were at the end of the hallway leading to the office, and Harry kept his tight grip on her hand. He pulled her forward, and after a minute they stepped into the large office. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his head bent over some papers, and he was holding a quill in one hand. He looked up after a moment. 

“Ah, Harry. What can I do for you?”

He glanced at Danni, and she crossed her hands over her chest stubbornly. She gave him a look that said he would be doing all the talking. He cleared his throat. “Sir, do you recall how I mentioned that there was something… off about Professor Moody?” Dumbledore nodded. “Well, the truth is, it’s an imposter. And he definitely wants to hurt… someone.”

Dumbledore tilted his head back, and gestured for the two students to take a seat. Harry sat down, but Danni remained standing. Dumbledore looked at Harry, ignoring the other girl. “And how do you know this?”

Harry glanced at Danni one last time, but she remained silent. He sighed. It would be so much easier if she would just talk, but he could understand why she was adverse to the idea. So he took a deep breath. “Well, Danni can read minds and she accidentally read the mind of Professor Moody, but she could tell that it wasn’t him, and she saw thoughts that are very violent. And this man is definitely a threat, and we don’t know where the real Moody is currently.”

Dumbledore finally looked up at Danni. She had an unreadable expression on her face, but she didn’t deny the crazy sounding story. “Really. You can read minds?” She nodded stiffly. Dumbledore stroked his beard. “Hmm, interesting. I have never encountered anyone with the ability to read minds. Fascinating.”

Danni’s eyes narrowed, and she frowned. “You already knew.” And it wasn’t a question, it was a statement. “Why didn’t you ever say anything? How did you know? How can you do that?”

Harry looked back and forth between them. “What? What did he do?”

Danni looked at Harry. “He can somehow block me out, and only let me hear certain things…” She looked like a lightbulb went off in her mind. “The other day when you were talking about the hourglasses… you purposely didn’t let me see everything. But how?”

The older wizard smiled kindly. “It is a rather difficult task, and takes many years of training until it is just a natural defence that activates without even thinking about it. But I never suspected that the mental barriers I’ve learned to erect would be able to block a probing mind reader.”

She pouted. “That still doesn’t explain how you knew. Did my parents tell you? Did I slip up and read a professor’s mind? How?”

Dumbledore switched back to the more serious subject matter. “What exactly did you see in this… imposter’s mind?”

Danni shivered. “It was very dark, a blur of thoughts all melted together in a way I’ve never seen before. There was a picture of Harry, thoughts of him being hurt, and his aura was something completely dark and overwhelming. I’ve just never felt anything like that before.”

Harry thought it was a little strange how Danni kept mentioning that she had never felt anything like that before. It was almost like she expected to be able to recognize the feeling that came with such an evil sounding person. He looked to the headmaster. “What are we going to do, Sir?”

Dumbledore frowned. “There isn’t very much that can be done, I’m afraid. Like you said earlier, Harry, there is no evidence, no solid proof against this man,”

Harry’s eyes met with Danni’s and she looked pissed. “Earlier? As in, you were talking to the old man about this earlier? As in you only wanted me to agree because he probably didn’t believe you? You promised! I kept my end, but you…” Her hands balled into fists by her sides, and Harry stood up to reach out to her. She brushed off his hand and scowled at him. “It was stupid of me to ever trust you! I knew that it was stupid!”

Harry’s voice sounded pleading. She was so angry about this, and he didn’t know why. He hadn’t even broken his promise. He had never mentioned her to the headmaster. “Danni, please, just let me explain-”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear your explanation. You can consider all of our deals to be terminated.” She turned and stormed away.

Harry went to follow, but Dumbledore cleared his throat. “I believe you would be best off giving her some space for a little while. Now, is there anything else you can tell me about this imposter?”

Harry made a groan of disgust in the back of his throat, and also left. He didn’t know anything else, and Dumbledore had just said that he wouldn’t be able to do anything with that information anyways. So he had broken Danni’s trust for no reason. He wasn’t sure where to find her. Maybe the Ravenclaw common room, or maybe another empty classroom, surrounded by comforting friends.

He decided that he would just find her using the Marauder’s map, the easiest method of finding anyone located on Hogwarts’ grounds. As he began to jog back to the Gryffindor common room, his scar began to sting. He couldn’t keep his eyes open, and he collapsed to the floor.   
,,,  
An angry looking woman pounded on the door, freezing cold rain soaking straight through her clothes. She was shouting in a high pitched voice. “Let me in! You know that you have no right to keep her away from me!”

The door was opened, just a sliver, and there was an anxious young woman standing inside. “Please, you can’t take her, you don’t understand, she’s already called us her parents, please-”

The angry woman shoved the door open and stomped inside, not caring that she was tracking in mud and water. “You give me back my daughter you bitch! You already have your son, why must you take away my child as well?”

The other woman shook tears out of her eyes. “It’s been four years, and you are no more fit to be a parent now than you were back then. She is our daughter now.” A young man joined the dryer woman, and wrapped an arm around her waist.

He nodded in agreement. “Judy, what kind of life would you be able to provide? You are not capable of being a mother.”

The soaked woman looked furious. “Fine, then. Not now. But someday, she will come back to me, of her own volition, and there will be nothing you can do. I don’t care what you think, Daniella is my daughter, and I won’t let you keep her!”   
,,,


	19. Danni

Danni wanted to scream, or punch something, or both. She had trusted Harry to keep her secret. She had only agreed to tell Dumbledore with him because, in the end, she knew that it was the right thing to do. But he had no right to go behind her back and speak with the headmaster first. 

She looked around the glass room. Somehow, it was pouring out, like the weather was aware of how she was feeling. She had taken refuge in the greenhouse. When there was no classes going on in there, it was a pretty nice place to chill out. Especially when she was emotionally unstable and unsure of how well she would be able to control her gift. And the plants’ thought weren’t nearly as bothersome as the thoughts of humans.

Danni pulled up a stool from one of the long tables that was used to conduct lessons and put it next to the wall. She looked out through the rain, and wondered why her life was so… different. No one else she knew had these problems. Even Harry, despite everything, he was famous and people loved him.

She closed her eyes and listened to the soft pattering of rain against glass. She closed her mind as well, not wanting to hear anything that couldn’t be heard with her ears. Suddenly, the glass next to her exploded in. She couldn’t react in time to put up a temporary protective barrier or something, so she was showered with shards of glass, and they sliced through her skin.

Danni looked up, and saw the fake Moody standing there, his wand out. Danni pulled hers out, but the hundreds of scratches now covering her body were more painful than expected, and the stranger easily disarmed her. The man took a few steps forward, the crunch of glass sounding ominous under his heavy boots, like breaking bones or something.

He grabbed her arm and yanked her up. He tugged her through his makeshift door, and she struggled, and opened her mouth to scream. He put a silencing charm on her, so her screams were mute. 

He had an iron grip that she couldn’t break free of, and he was literally pulling her through the mud. She hit and scratched his arm, but that didn’t seem to bother him much at all. He pulled her into the Forbidden Forest, and didn’t stop until they were hidden from anyone in Hogwarts. “Calm down, I’m not here to hurt you.” Danni kept struggling. Being told to calm down by a hostile invader wasn’t exactly reassuring. He sighed. “Listen, your aunt contacted me. She wanted me to make sure you got out of the school safely before our plans are put into action. Trust me, it’s for your good.”

Danni went limp in his grasp. “Prove it.”

He pulled her closer to his face with a grin. “Why don’t you just read my mind?”

Danni had no idea how he knew. But she definitely wasn’t going to try. The inside of his mind was rather frightening. “Why don’t you just find a way to prove it?”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He pointed his wand at a tree, and a green light shot out. The dark mark was now etched into the trunk. “Would anyone other than a death eater ever dare do something like that?”

Danni sighed, and when the stranger sensed that she was done fighting, he let go of her. “Who are you, anyways? And how do you look like the real professor?”

He shrugged. “Polyjuice potion. It’s one nifty trick. But I think I’ll keep my real name to myself. Your aunt may trust you, but that doesn’t mean I have to. All I have to do is take you somewhere safe, where none of the things about to go down will affect you.”

Danni gulped. “But what about my friends? Will they be safe?”

The Moody imposter narrowed his eyes. “As long as they know nothing of my plans and stay completely out of my way, then yes, they’ll be fine.”

Danni frowned. “If it’s safe, then why can’t I just stay here?”

He rolled his eye. “Because… if things don’t go exactly according to plan, then certain things could come out that you may not want other people to know about. If it becomes public knowledge that you’re the direct niece of a death eater, you won’t be getting away unscathed. Honestly, those righteous ‘good guys’ are more vicious than any villain I’ve ever encountered.”

Danni’s frown deepened. “Won’t it be awfully suspicious for me to disappear right before whatever evil things you have in mind take place? Won’t they wonder why bad things started happening right after I left?”

He shook his head. “It’s actually best for the plan if you leave. We weren’t expecting you to get close to Potter, and that might have made your position even more desirable. There is a woman standing by, waiting to drink some polyjuice. All she needs is a lock of your hair.”

Danni bit her lip. She didn’t want to be seen as consorting with the enemy, but honestly at this point she had no idea who the enemy was even supposed to be. Would it be more traitorous for her to stay or to leave? She didn’t want to anger this psychotic man, but she had to know. “Will H… will Potter be in danger?”

The man obviously mistook the question for bloodthirstiness. He assumed that she wanted Harry gone, just like the rest of them did. It didn’t even occur to him that she was worried, even if he had broken their deal. “Most likely. All the boss needs him for is a little blood, and then he’ll be up for grabs. Either that, or the boss will want to finish off that insufferable twit himself. Who knows? But rest assure, he will suffer.”

Danni forced herself to laugh. “Yeah, that’s great. So where is this death eater waiting?”

The fake Moody grinned. “I’m glad to see that you’re as sensible as your aunt described. She’s real proud of you, you know.”

Danni gasped, and silently apologized to Harry. Judy had actually said that she was proud of Danni? She couldn’t just let that slide. She wanted her family to be proud of her. And all she would have to do is hide like some coward, she wouldn’t have to face Harry or anything. Then she sensed Harry’s mind getting closer.

He was panicked, dreading something dark. His fear was strong, so even from a distance it filled Danni’s mind. If he showed up now, everything would be ruined. She turned to the imposter. “Potter’s coming. You’d best be on your way.”

The man nodded with a grin. “You can find our mutual friend by going to the Owlery any time of the day.” Then he turned and ran.

Danni turned and waited. Harry’s mind was such a mess, she couldn’t even make out the individual thoughts, just the overpowering feelings. He burst out into the small clearing, panting for breath, his wand raised. “Danni!” He looked around. “Where’d he go? The imposter? I know who he is, his name is Bartemius Crouch Jr.”

Danni recognized the name from a famous trial that she had to read about for one of her classes at one point. “He… got away. I searched for his mind, and when I located it, I came to confront him.”

Harry took in all her bleeding welts, and grimaced. “I’m guessing it didn’t go so well. Listen, I’m sorry about going behind your back, but I swear I didn’t say anything about you. Read my mind if you don’t believe me.” He pocketed his wand and reached out. “Hey, let’s get you to Madame Pomfrey. She’ll patch you right up.”

Danni smiled gratefully. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “And I’m sorry.” Harry had no way of knowing that she was apologizing for future actions as well as past.


	20. Harry

Harry watched anxiously as Madam Pomfrey began patching up Danni. The girl was covered in scratches, some of them deeper than others, and a few looked quite painful. Danni had to bite her lip to keep from screeching as the nurse pressed healing solution against the more serious wounds.

She winced, but refrained from making any sounds of complaint. Harry admired that strength. Once the nurse walked away, to grab some more bandages, Harry leaned close to Danni and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Are you sure that you don’t know which way he went? It could be in your memory, even if you didn’t quite notice it at the time.”

Danni shook her head. “No, I wish I did. That guy’s mind… it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

Harry sighed. “We need to report this to Dumbledore. We had no proof before, but an attack has to be considered proof of that guy’s evilness. But we’ll need to hurry, so he can see your injuries before they heal.”

Danni nodded, though she had a strange look on her face. She peered down at her shirt with a frown. “Oh, bother.” She looked back up. “Harry, would it be too much trouble for you to grab me a new shirt? Mine’s got holes in uncomfortable places, not to mention all the blood stains. This’ll be hell to wash out.”

Harry stepped back, feeling a little suspicious. He understood that an attack was traumatic and all, but what was with the sudden change in subject? He sighed. Danni was probably still mad at him about the whole going behind her back to talk to the headmaster thing. Getting attacked wasn’t going to magically change her feelings about betrayal. He nodded. “I’ll see what I can scrounge up.” He started to walk away, then turned back. “And Danni? I’m sorry about the betrayal.” Her eyes widened like he had just shocked her.

Which was strange. He had apologized before, hadn’t he? So why was it suddenly such a big deal? He glanced towards Madam Pomfrey who was approaching the bed. Danni would be safe in the infirmary. He jogged out, and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. Maybe he could borrow another of Hermione’s old things.

He walked in to the sight of an empty common room, which was pretty unusual. It wasn’t often that not a single Gryffindor was in there, doing something or another. He decided to check the dorm rooms, and hoped that Hermione was in his room. He couldn’t just go rummaging through her clothing without her permission or presence.

He heard shouting, and hurried up into the dorm room where the sound was coming from. Ron was standing opposite Hermione, who had her hands on her hips, while his were crossed over his chest. “Woah, what’s going on?”

Ron turned to face Harry with a frown. “Maybe you would know if you spent more time with your friends instead of some obsessed fangirl. You haven’t been a very good friend at all, you know.”

Harry kept his voice calm. Yelling would do no good. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s wrong?”

Hermione spoke. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. You heard as well as I did about the house elves, and you know that they’re treated horribly, Dobby’s told you all about that. So how can I just stand around and do nothing about it?”

Ron groaned. “It’s very bloody easy to stand around and do nothing. Those creatures like the way they’re being treated just fine. They don’t need your interference, if they wanted the help of some stupid young witch, they would have asked ages ago. So just mind your own bloody business and leave the poor things alone.”

Harry frowned. “I don’t understand. What have you done to bother the house elves?”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t understand. You don’t even stick around long enough for us to say hello and good bye to you anymore. If you did, then maybe you would have realized that what I’m doing is important, and he is just another slave keeper if he’s okay with the treatment of those poor innocent little things.”

Ron threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “She’s refusing to stop leaving clothes out for them. You know, because she thinks it’ll free whatever house elves sneak in at night to do their cleaning up.”

Harry frowned. “Wouldn’t their master have to present them with clothing?”

Ron nodded, but Hermione shook her head. “Because the house elves are employed by the school itself, technically every resident of Hogwarts is master of them. So if anybody leaves out clothing, it should free them.”

Ron growled. “Well it’s not freeing them. All it’s doing is leaving this place a bloody mess. None of the elves want to clean up in here anymore, because they find it insulting that she keeps leaving out the clothes. They find it insulting.”

Harry sighed. He wasn’t sure how to mediate this situation, and he had slightly more important things on his mind. “Okay. Well, off the topic of house elves, Hermione, do you have an extra shirt from last year? Maybe a couple years ago?”

Hermione rolled her eyes again. She was smart, and since her old robe had gone to Danni before, it was easy for her to know that this shirt was also going to go to Danni. She nodded after a moment. “Yeah, you know I haven’t thrown any of this stuff out yet, despite the fact that I really should.” She turned and knelt in front of her trunk. She rifled through for a minute, until she stood up triumphantly, a small shirt in her grip. She shoved it at Harry. “Here you go.”

He nodded gratefully. “Thank you so much. I promise I’ll find a way to return the favor when you need it.”

Hermione shrugged. “You don’t need to bother.” She smiled softly. “That’s what friends are for, right?” And silently, she was rethinking her previous opinion of Danni. The girl still had Harry’s attention even though some time had passed, and Harry still seemed to be happy. and if this girl could really make Harry happy, then Hermione welcomed her. She knew that Harry deserved someone who cared about him as more than just friends. And if he finally found that, then she was happy for him. 

Harry hurried out of Gryffindor, and back to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey must have already contacted Dumbledore, because the headmaster and a few teachers were gathered around Danni’s bed. Harry didn’t want to shove past them rudely, so he stood there awkwardly. Danni turned and saw him, and apparently had no such reservations.

She hurried past the adults, and Harry wordlessly handed over the shirt. Her robes were lying on the bed still, leaving her in her uniform. She pulled on the new shirt, and in some impressive feat of maneuvering, she pulled the bloody shirt over her head, with the new shirt staying perfectly still. She pulled him into a hug. “Thanks.” She lowered her voice. “They just keep going on and on and it’s so boring, I don’t know how you stand it all the time.”

Harry smiled. “I guess just a lot of practice.”

Danni laughed. “Yeah, I guess. And I forgive you.” Harry’s smile widened.


	21. Danni

Danni walked next to Harry. She wasn’t sure where they were headed, but it was nice to feel safe, like she didn’t have to worry about anything anymore. But there was also a painful feeling of guilt building up in her stomach. Harry wasn’t the guy who she thought he was, and in some ways it was a good thing, in some ways it was a bad thing.

But he was going to die. There was no way Voldemort would just let him go free after all the trouble he’s gone through to murder Harry in previous years. She glanced up at him, and he seemed lost in thought, and she was pretty sure that he didn’t know where they were going either. She stopped at an empty bench, and sat down abruptly. Harry followed suit, though he had a confused look on his face. 

Danni sighed. “Listen, I need to ask you something.” At Harry’s apprehensive look, she laughed. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. I just want to know something. And answer honestly, please. Were you going to tell Dumbledore about me without my permission if you hadn’t been interrupted?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I swear. I promised you that I wouldn’t tell, and I was never planning on it. Do you believe me?”

Danni let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I believe you.” She got up, and motioned for him to stay seated. “I have to go do something important. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Harry nodded, and watched as Danni ran off. She quickly hurried up to the owlery, which was at the top of the Western Tower. She didn’t even care that people thought she was kind of crazy to be running through the halls like that. She burst into the drafty circular room, panting for breath after that long run. 

She looked around, but didn’t see anybody in there at all, let alone death eaters. But the Moody imposter had said that she could show up anytime and the person who was going to swap places with her would be waiting. Danni jumped when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder, and spun around.

There was a raggedy old woman, wearing clothes that looked like they were stitched together from the scraps of whatever she could find. “Ah, you scared me.”

Suddenly, the woman stood up straight, and pulled off a mussed up wig. It was her brother, Jacob. He grinned and pulled her into a tight hug, which she readily returned. “I thought that I would never see you again, it’s been so long. Crouch already explained everything, right?”

Danni raised one eyebrow. “You’re going to replace me? Why?”

He shrugged. “I guess everyone figures that I know you the most, so it’ll be the easiest for me to get away with being you. We have a little bit of time, though, so you can tell me as many details as possible. It wouldn’t do for Potter to get suspicious.”

Danni shook her head. “Actually, Jacob, I’m not here to switch places with you.” He let go of her and took a step back.

The older boy frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Danni sighed. “I just came to tell you to go away. It’s… it’s too dangerous for you to disguise yourself as me, it just won’t work out.”

Jacob’s voice came out soft and gentle. “You’ve never been able to lie to me. You like him, don’t you?” Danni blushed. “You want to stay here to be with him. I can’t believe it.”

Danni looked at him pleadingly. “Please, don’t tell anyone. I just… I think that it would be best for everyone if I stick around. There’s no reason for you, or any other death eater, to get involved.”

Jacob looked torn. He had gone almost his entire life worshipping Voldemort, and now was finally their chance to bring the Dark Lord back from the dead for good, and to make him immortal. But he also cared about his sister, even if they haven’t been able to see each other in years. He sighed. “Fine, I suppose you can stay here.”

Danni cocked her head, and read Jacob’s mind. She wanted to know his motivation for being so agreeable. “I may as well let her stay with the guy. It’s not like her being around is going to affect the final outcome. So I should just let her be happy with him while she can.”

Danni gulped, but didn’t say anything to indicate what she had heard. After all, Jacob had no idea that his younger sister could read minds as easily as he could listen to someone talking. She hugged him again, then stepped back. “Thank you. Tell Judy I said hi.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Yeah, alright. I hope that no one had their hearts set on the idea of you coming to stay with us at the mansion. It’s a great place, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

Danni laughed. “You’re not going to convince me to change my mind, especially not with bribes.”

Jacob smiled. “I should have brought those eclairs that you like. I think you would have eaten them and declared them an acceptable bribe, right?”

Danni nodded. “Next time you should come more prepared. But you need to get out of here now. Someone could come across you any minute.” She frowned. “How did you get in here anyways? And how were you planning on getting me out?”

Jacob shrugged. “Those kinds of secrets can only be revealed if it’s in the act of returning you to the mansion. Last chance…”

The girl shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m staying, and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”

Jacob nodded. “I know that, but it was worth a shot anyways, wasn’t it? You should get going, I’ll get out of here as soon as the opportunity arises. But you don’t want to be seen with me if I do happen to get caught. Not when I’ve got this on my arm.”

He rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm so Danni could see that black wriggling tattoo of a very detailed snake. Danni turned and hurried away. Well, at least that was an accomplishment. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have just taken her against her will, so she was glad that it had only been her brother. But convincing him to let her stay was only half the battle.

Danni silently apologized to her aunt. She knew that the woman meant well, but she was one of the bad guys. Which meant that she needed to be stopped. Danni still needed to figure out exactly how they were going to take Harry away from the school when he was such a well known figure. And once she knew that, she would have to figure out how to stop all that from happening.


	22. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don’t get upset if there are any details that are different here than they were in the book or movie, it’s on purpose, and will be addressed in a later chapter. That includes character traits and personalities and such. I hate to sound like a broken record, but I really have gotten a lot of negativity about this.

Harry waited awkwardly on the bench by himself, wondering when Danni would get back from wherever she had run off to. He shifted nervously in his seat. After a few minutes, he stood up to stretch his legs, and looked around. There didn’t seem to be anyone coming. He wondered why Danni had left so suddenly. 

There were noises of excitement coming from the other end of the hallway. They were faint at first, but they grew louder as the people involved got closer. He watched as a large crowd of people began to make their way to the Great Hall. He spotted Hermione in the crowd, and beckoned her over. “What’s going on?”

She gave him a searching look, obviously wondering where he’s been lately that’s kept him so out of the loop. “Fred and George are going to try and enter their names in the goblet.”

Harry frowned. “But I thought that you had to be at least seventeen-”

“You do. They are going to take a strong aging potion first, but that’s not going to work. That goblet has to be smart to have avoided being tricked in over seven hundred years. But it should be amusing to see them try. You should come watch with us.”

Harry looked around, but he didn’t see Danni coming, and he wasn’t going to wait around for her all day. He shrugged. “Alright.” Once the entire group was in the room, the two twins surged forward, laughing. They both chugged down their potions, then tossed the empty vials to the ground. They glanced at each other, and counted down from three.

On one, they both leaped forward into the blue circle, and they weren’t immediately ejected. Fred gave Hermione a smug look. “See, I told you that this would work. We’re a lot smarter than you give us credit for.”

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. “That shouldn’t have worked…”

The twins pranced around a bit for show, then they both dropped a parchment with their names on it into the giant cup at the same time. There was a moment of silence across everyone, and Fred and George believed themselves to be successful. They cheered for a moment, but they were shut up at once when they were flung from the blue circle surrounding the goblet.

They were both sitting on their butts, an identical dazed expression on their faces. They both looked at each other, and when they saw the long white beards that had grown in a matter of seconds, they both began screaming. Someone ran off to get Madam Pomfrey, and a few minutes later, the nurse arrived alongside McGonagall. The nurse led the twins away, and their heads were bowed in embarrassment.

Everyone else was laughing, until McGonagall gave them her patented super stare. She spoke in her usual strict voice. “I am very disappointed in the actions that have taken place here today. If I find out that even one more underage student has attempted to enter their name, then there will be serious consequences. Now all of you had best leave.”

All of the students scattered, in fear of the mysterious consequences. They knew that Professor McGonagall was not one to be trifled with, or taken lightly. Harry laughed with his friends once they were a safe distance away. Hermione shook her head knowingly. “I told them that it wouldn’t work. They should have just listened to me.”

Ron grumbled under his breath. “Yeah, because you’re always right about everything, of course.”

Hermione heard the comment, and frowned. “Ron…”

Harry sighed. He hadn’t laughed with his two best friends in a long time, and he hadn’t realized quite how much he had missed it. It was nice to know that they didn’t hate him for spending so much time with Danni, even though they didn’t seem to like her very much. Though Hermione was acting a little better about it than she had been before.

Harry shook his head. He wanted to get back to that bench before Danni, so he could at least say that he had been waiting patiently for her. And even if she didn’t believe him, he would at least have an amusing story to tell. Though Danni was in Ravenclaw, so it was possible that she didn’t know anything about Fred and George, despite their troublesome antics.

“Sorry, but I have to go.”

“To hang out with your new girlfriend, right?” Hermione spoke in a light voice, but Harry could hear that even if she was acting better towards Danni, that didn’t mean she wanted to never see Harry again. He was just grateful that her voice wasn’t filled with disdain, the way he knew that Ron’s would be. 

Harry shrugged. “We already made plans. I’m really sorry, guys. I promise that I’ll hang out with you later. Just tell me the time and the place.”

Ron shook his head. “Don’t bother, mate. You’ll probably just have to bail on us to spend more time with your new girlfriend anyways.”

Harry shook his head in protest. “I would never ditch you guys for her. And besides, she’s not my girlfriend. We just have a lot in common, so we’re hanging out together and talking a lot.”

They both shrugged, and Harry hurried off. He went back downstairs, and saw that Danni was sitting on the bench she had left him at, leaning her head back so it was resting on the cool stone wall. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing wasn’t quite slow enough or even enough to indicate that she was sleeping.

When she heard Harry getting closer, she cracked one eye open, just a sliver, and stared at him. “Sorry I took so long. I shouldn’t have tried to make you wait when I didn’t even know how long I was going to be. But everything’s taken care of now, so don’t worry about it. Well, I guess the thing’s you’re worried about aren’t necessarily taken care of, but almost everything that I was worried about was taken care of. And if you do still want to worry about it, that is fully up to you. I can’t force you to stop worrying about it.”

Harry sat down with a smile. “Whoa, slow down. I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”

She shrugged. “That’s a good thing. You wouldn’t want to know what I’m talking about right now. My whole life is such a mess, and I can’t believe it sometimes, and I didn’t want you to get mixed up in anything bad because of me.”

Harry laughed. “What do you mean, ‘mixed up in anything bad’? Don’t you know that there’s a very evil not-man out there somewhere who is intent on coming back to life and then coming for my head? What could be worse than that? And what are you mixed up in that’s so bad it’s making you worry about me, the guy you hate?”

Danni sighed. “Life is exhausting. I wish I could just take one long nap and not wake up.”

Harry nodded. “I know. I feel the same way sometimes.”

Suddenly, Danni sat up. “Do you think that you’re brave?”

Harry frowned. “What?”

“Do you think that you are brave?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it. I mean, all the bad situations I’ve been in have all scared me half to death,”

Danni shook her head. “It doesn’t matter whether you were scared or not. Do you think you were brave?”

Harry nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Danni smiled. “Me too.”


	23. Danni

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not saying that there are any in this chapter specifically, but in general, please excuse minor continuity errors. This story was written over a very long period of time, and it can get quite difficult to keep track of everything.

Danni moved the food on her plate around with her fork, but she wasn’t in the mood to eat anything. It was Halloween, which meant no classes, reason enough to celebrate, and then of course, there was the added buzz of everyone wondering who the Triwizard champions were going to be. 

Danni had a bad feeling about all of this. Yesterday she had sent Jacob away, certain that she was making the right decision. But now she wasn’t sure when Voldemort’s attack was going to occur, and to be honest, she was scared. Whatever was going to happen held no guarantees that Danni would stay safe, and she already knew for sure that Harry wouldn’t.

Everyone was chattering about the announcement that was going to take place as soon as the feast was finished. All the talk was starting to overwhelm Danni, as she realized that she was hearing inner and outer voices tonight. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table, and caught sight of Harry, and he tried to make eye contact with her, but she ducked her head down.

She had gone and blurted something so unnecessary yesterday, and she felt mortified. Next time she would have to learn to keep her damn mouth shut. Her stomach was in knots, and the food in front of her looked too unappetizing to even consider eating. Not that there was any food she could think of at the moment that didn’t make her feel nauseous.

A girl in the year below Danni, Meya, turned to her with a friendly grin. “Hey, Danni, aren’t you excited to hear who’s going to be the champion of the school? Wouldn’t it be great if it’s someone from Ravenclaw, or at least someone that we know?”

Danni abruptly stood up, and after shooting Meya an apologetic glance, she ran away, out to the corridor. She felt like she couldn’t breath, and everyone’s meaningless thoughts were flitting into her mind like they belonged there. She just needed to get away, get a break from all of that. She ran to the front doors, and when she saw that they were closed, she swore under her breath.

Whatever was about to go down, Danni seriously needed some fresh air, or she legitimately felt like she was going to pass out. Everything was pressing against her, forcing her to hear everything going on in the Great Hall. So she ran to where she knew there was a back door. She had accidentally read a teacher’s mind as she was leaving the building after hours. Danni had never used the escape before, but now she needed it.

The poor girl ran flat out until she was outside, and gulped in the fresh air like she had just been drowning. She collapsed onto the grass that was already growing wet with dew in the darkness of the night, and felt like she was able to breath for the first time all day. She scooted back until she was leaning against the cool stone walls that made up the giant castle, and just closed her eyes to relax.

She took deep breaths in and out, trying to not forget how to breath in general. After a few minutes, she heard the muffled footsteps of someone approaching. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, hoping that that would make the person disappear. She let herself get a sense of the mind that was growing nearer, and she frowned. If she didn’t know better, she would say that it was the Moody imposter. Crouch, she reminded herself. ‘Moody imposter’ wasn’t his name, Crouch was.

She opened her eyes, but it was too dark to see. The footsteps hurried closer, and Danni started to inch towards the door that was still wide open. Her instincts were telling her to dash inside, and slam the door shut. Just try and watch anyone enter the unimpregnable castle without permission. But last minute, she sensed that the mind was not openly hostile, at least towards her, and she remembered that she was actually supposed to be Jacob disguised as herself.

Danni stood up and stretched, trying to make herself look as relaxed as possible. Hopefully he wouldn’t be able to see her well enough to recognize how awkward and nervous she looked.

Crouch frowned. “What are you doing out here? You should be inside to hear the big announcement.”

Danni shrugged casually. “I could ask you the same thing. What the hell are you doing out here, trying to give me a heart attack or something?”

Crouch shook his head, and Danni could read faint amusement in his mind. “I’m sorry for frightening you. You’ve always been such a baby, and what a shame that your aunt actually allowed such childish behavior from you. But doing this proves that you have finally grown up. Congratulations. Now, I must insist that you go back inside, so you don’t miss the giant plot twist that’s coming.”

Danni frowned. “Plot twist? You aren’t going off plan, are you?”

Crouch gave her a searching look, the fake eye glowing in the darkness like in some old cartoon. “Plan? I wasn’t aware that you knew anything of the plan. You’re only supposed to know your part.” Before Danni could think up a suitable excuse, Crouch gave her the perfect out. “That damn aunt of yours, never knowing when to keep her trap shut.”

Danni kept the sigh of relief internal. It wouldn’t do to be caught by this madman. She turned to go. “Well, like you said, I should be going-”

There was a flash of green light shot past her head, and Danni gulped. Crouch spoke, not caring that her back was to him. “If I find out that you’ve done anything to mess with our plans because of some childish notion of taking care of your sister, then I will make sure that it’s the last thing you ever do for her. If you don’t understand, then you’ll be the one explaining to the professors how a dead body identical to you has shown up in various pieces strewn about the school. Do you understand what I’m saying, boy?”

Danni nodded, and she didn’t trust herself to say anything without her voice squeaking. Crouch nodded with satisfaction. “Good, now you’d best hurry along.”

Danni ran inside, and made sure to close the door behind her. If Crouch wanted a way in, he could easily walk through the front doors, and no one would ever stop to question it. Danni hurried through the winding corridors, and once she got closer to the Great Hall, she could feel that overwhelming sense of satisfaction, combined with shock and disappointment. But if she didn’t want anything bad to happen, she would just have to suck it up and sit through it.

Danni took a deep breath before opening the doors and stepping into the Great Hall. As soon as she did, she heard the booming cheers of students surrounding the three who must have been chosen. Her eyes slid over to the goblet, which still had a blue flame crackling loudly. Danni was the first to spot it, as another slip of paper shot out of the glorified cup.

Dumbledore caught it, a puzzled look on his face. If the headmaster was confused, then that meant something serious was happening. He cleared his throat, and read the name written on the paper. “Harry Potter.”


	24. Harry

Harry blinked and slowly looked around in the sudden silence. It took several minutes for it to fully register what had just happened. Had Dumbledore seriously just called his name? But why? The champions from each school had already been chosen, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts. 

Harry didn’t fit into any of this at all, so why was Dumbledore calling his name?

His eyes flicked over to the door for some reason, and he saw Danni standing there, her mouth forming an ‘o’. She was just as surprised by everyone else about what had happened. But why hadn’t she already been in the Great Hall? Where was she coming from? Ron elbowed him in the stomach, much harder than necessary, and hissed at him. “You’d better get up there.” He sounded pissed off for some reason, and Harry couldn’t figure out why.

Hermione had a disapproving frown on her face. “Why didn’t you say that you found a way around the age boundary? What did you do?”

Harry wanted to shrink down so low in his seat that he would fall right through the floor. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of any spells that would actually help to accomplish that. He shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. I have no idea how-”

Dumbledore’s voice boomed through the quiet, as he repeated the name, sounding no less confused. “Harry Potter.”

Harry slowly got up, and began to walk to the front of the Great Hall. He had no idea why this was happening to him. He had never even put his name into the goblet, so this didn’t make any sense. How could he ever be judged worthiest to represent his school when all the Hufflepuffs were already cheering over their champion. None of this made any sense.  
But he made his way up there, and Dumbledore shoved the burnt scrap of paper into his hands. He motioned for Harry to follow him, and the the professors from the two other schools came along, as well as Ludo Bagman, the coordinator of the whole event. They all shuffled into an empty side room, and immediately began interogatting Harry. How did he get his name into the cup? What did he do to bypass all of the spells? Why had he been so foolish? When Harry could do little more than stutter, they all began arguing amongst themselves. 

They seemed to have forgotten that Harry was even in the same room as them as they went back and forth. Should he be allowed to participate? There was only supposed to be three champions, not four. Why was Harry Potter always involved in everything? It wouldn’t be fair to the other schools to have only one champion each if Hogwarts got two. Harry could barely keep up with the conversation, and his head was whipping back and forth as they all shouted at each other.

There was a loud bang as the door to the room swung open, and everyone jumped up in shock. There was that slow thudding sound of footsteps, and then Professor Mad-Eye Moody was there. Harry felt the immediate urge to run away. He knew that the man was an imposter, up to no good, and now that Dumbledore also knew, he would make sure the guy was arrested and sent away, right?

His fake eye flitted around the room, and when it landed on Harry, the young wizard couldn’t help the involuntary shudder that wracked his body. The man was definitely creepy, and Harry wasn’t sure if it was because of the imposter or just because the ex-auror naturally had a creepy aura to him.

The man frowned. “The rules are clear. The names that are chosen by the impartial judge, the goblet, are the champions who will compete in the tournament. He must participate. There’s no way around it.”

Harry frowned, and looked to Dumbledore for help. The headmaster seemed deep in thought, and he stared at Harry with his piercing eyes. He looked up at the other adults after several moments of just staring at the boy. “I believe that Alastor is correct. The rules are well defined, and there are no loopholes. The boy must compete.”

Harry looked at his headmaster in shock. That man knew better than anyone why it would be disastrous to actually take any advice from the man parading around as Mad-Eye. “Sir-!” But he was cut off as the talking between the adults went on, and Harry still felt like he had no idea what was going on. How had any of this happened?

It felt like several hours had passed, though Harry knew that couldn’t be true, before he was dismissed. Dumbledore’s hand shot out to catch the boy’s shoulder. “Harry… you must be careful.”

Harry kept his voice soft, but he didn’t leave out the anger that was filling him. “How could you listen to that nasty ferret of a man when you know that it’s just an imposter?”  
Dumbledore sighed. “No, I suppose I shouldn’t expect you to understand with no explanation. Harry, even though I believe your accusations, there is no physical evidence, or any evidence of any sort, that points to him being an imposter. Your friend has already made it very clear that she wants nothing to point to her, which means we cannot tell anyone, because they simply wouldn’t believe it.”

Harry frowned. “I understand not wanting to betray Danni, but isn’t it worth going behind her back, and potentially exposing her secret, if it’s for the good of everyone?”

Dumbledore shook his head. “If Danni herself does not testify, then there is nothing we can do. And if I go behind her back and tell someone about her abilities, she would most likely lie once confronted by the authorities, and if she refuses to cooperate, then there is no way for any evidence provided by her to be accepted in any situation.”

Harry’s frown deepened. “Well, so we can’t tell anyone. But that doesn’t mean you have to side with the imposter. It’s obviously what he wants, so why would you give him that? He’s only your subordinate, you don’t have to listen to him.”

Dumbledore sighed patiently, like he was trying to explain a complicated subject to a small child. “Alastor Moody is a person whom I greatly respect, and I wouldn’t ever take his opinions or thoughts lightly. And he is correct in that the rules are solid. If I tried to argue or postpone any official decision, then our imposter could realize that we are onto him, and I very much doubt that you would want to see what happens when you back a man like him into a corner.”

Harry scowled, but he knew that his headmaster was only speaking the truth. But that didn’t stop him from feeling helpless in this situation. “I’m going to go now. I’m sure that there’s going to be a lot of talks and stuff, but right now I find myself feeling exhausted.”

Dumbledore nodded, and Harry scurried away. He didn’t expect to bump into Danni less than a minute after leaving that dramatic conference. She was looking at him critically, like she was trying to figure out something very important. “Are you alright?”

Harry nodded slowly. “Yeah. But I guess I’m in the tournament now.”

Danni’s eyes widened, and Harry wasn’t able to read minds, but he was pretty sure that he was reading fear and shock from her face. “Oh… oh…”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. With all of the new safety features that had been added, it shouldn’t be too bad. Even though he would probably lose, he wasn’t likely to be seriously injured or anything. “What’s wrong?”

Danni shook her head. “This is not good. This is so not good.” She peered up at Harry. “Did the Moody imposter have anything to do with this?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, why?”

Danni sighed, and pressed her face to her hands. “This is not going to end well at all.”


	25. Danni

Danni was silently freaking out. She knew that Harry was worried, of course, who wouldn’t be concerned knowing the things they know? An attempt has been made on Harry’s life every year that he’s attended Hogwarts so far, but he seems to be under the impression that this time will be different.

But Danni knows better. For Harry to have been placed in the tournament, someone would have had to seriously mess with the goblet, and if that were the case, then it was most likely Crouch. He seemed like the most likely suspect, and Danni wasn’t sure how to handle all of this. She wasn’t sure what exactly the plan was, but she knew that it involved Harry’s entry. That meant that Danni needed to do everything in her power to get Harry out.

She grabbed him by the hand, which was really just the most convenient spot to grab, she was in no way interested in holding hands. Admittedly, if if wasn’t a life or death situation, she would probably be more open to the idea. She brought him back to the Great Hall, and to her relief, it was already empty. Danni could only imagine that kind of crap that Harry was going to get for all this, if the brief glimpse she had taken into the minds of her peers was anything to go by.

They entered the large room, and Danni went over to the goblet. Harry gave her a puzzled look. “I’m pretty sure that well, everyone is already looking into this. What do you expect to be able to find that they can’t?”

Danni frowned. “A painting is an inanimate object. Even if the subject of the painting moves around and walks and talks, the painting is still not a living being, so I shouldn’t be able to read the minds of paintings. But I can. The goblet is an inanimate object, but it has to have some sort of brain or something in order to choose, impartially, who the champion for each school is going to be. So that means I should be able to read it’s mind, right?”

Harry gulped. “But at least the people in a painting are people, which means you know for sure that they have a brain-”

Danni snorted. “I’m not sure that being a person is full qualifications for having a brain. There are too many cases that go against that to even bother listing them all.”

Harry continued like Danni hadn’t interrupted him. “A goblet is always going to be just a goblet, whether it has a powerful enchantment over it or not.”

Danni let go of Harry’s hand immediately, and she surprised herself by noticing right away how much she missed the warmth and stability of it. She leaned in closer, reaching up to touch the goblet. Now that the champions had been chosen, the flame had disappeared, and the circle that stopped underage students from getting in also was gone.

She closed her eyes, and concentrated on letting herself slip into the mind of the goblet. Or more accurately, let the goblet’s mind slip into hers. Everything around her seemed to fade away, and for a moment she was afraid, and everything came back. She took a deep breath and tried again, and this time, she felt a secure line. It was holding her in place, making sure that no matter how far away she went, she would be able to find her way back. She didn’t have time to wonder what her mysterious landline was, because she had more important things to focus on.

Danni breathed so slowly that Harry could barely see her chest move at all. He was gripping her hand tightly. She had seemed like she needed the support, and now she was holding on so tight, it was almost painful. But he decided to clench his teeth and bear with it, because he really had no other choice, and he was genuinely interested in finding out why his name popped out of the goblet. 

Harry took the opportunity to study Danni’s face. She looked peaceful and calm, like she was taking a restful nap, and not at all like she was attempting the surely impossible task of reading the mind of a big fancy cup. 

Danni was in another place, one that she had never been to before. It wasn’t frightening at all, just relaxing, and calm. There was nobody who could disturb her in this place. And there were no words, no words in any language that she could understand, at least, speaking to her. Instead there were pictures. Images of what had happened.

Danni saw Crouch, still disguised as Mad-Eye Moody, approach the cup. It seemed to be in the middle of the night, and he had an aura of sneakiness about him. Danni was almost interested in knowing whether or not she could read the mind of a memory, but she decided that that would be impossible, unless it was her memory, and this was clearly one of the goblet’s.

Crouch muttered some very impressive stuff under his breath, and Danni could tell right away that it was dark magic. Evil stuff, she couldn’t understand how her brother and aunt could stand to use the stuff, but she wasn’t trying to judge them. She was honestly curious about what could possibly be the appeal in using such deadly magic.

After he did that, he stepped over the line, and held up a piece of parchment, with ‘Harry Potter’ written on it in a script that looked almost identical to Harry’s real handwriting. If she didn’t know any better, Danni would have thought that it was Harry’s writing. He dropped it in, and she could feel the goblet’s confusion.

Harry Potter wasn’t seventeen, but the goblet couldn’t just spit his name back out. After all, he belonged to a separate school, one with no other delegates, and if Harry was the only option, then it had to be Harry who was chosen as champion of his school. The goblet, though still dazed, seemed content with that decision, and Crouch backed away.

He looked around once more, maybe to make sure that he wasn’t going to be caught, and then he sprinted away, much faster than Danni would have thought possible. Danni was almost ready to leave now, but the goblet didn’t want her to go just yet. Was there more to the story? Probably not.

Danni could feel that the goblet was lonely. Her first thought was that it was impossible for a goblet to be lonely. But the poor thing hadn’t been pulled out in a couple of centuries, and it had never before been able to actually ‘speak’ with somebody. It didn’t want Danni to go, she was the first one to ever be so certain that the goblet was, in it’s own way, a living being.

There was a strange tugging feeling, and Danni thought she heard faint giggles in the distance. It was like two people were playing tug of war, only Danni was the rope. The goblet was on one side, coaxing her mind to stick around for a while, while her lifeline was on the other side, yanking on her arm. She could hardly feel the pressure on her limb, and just chuckled to herself.

Suddenly, Danni was tumbling onto the floor, right on top of Harry Potter. She laid there for a moment, dazed. She slowly sat up, and felt a pain in her hand. She looked down. The hand that had been touching the goblet looked like an entire layer of skin had been peeled off. It was bleeding profusely. 

Danni stood up and offered Harry her good hand to help him up, but he got up on his own, unwilling to risk pulling her down again. He hissed at her. “What were you thinking?”

Danni shrugged. “I got the answers that we need, okay? What’s the big deal anyways?”

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I was freaking out over here! You looked like you were asleep or something, and then you started laughing like a maniac, and then you were screaming, so I tried to pull you away, but it was like you were physically fused with the cup or something…” Harry trailed off as he spotted Danni’s new injury. His eyes widened. “We need to get you to the nurse.”

Danni bit her lip nervously. “What exactly would we tell her?”

Harry pulled her along, carefully holding her good hand as he tugged her to the infirmary. Once they got there, Madam Pomfrey began administering all kinds of random things that Danni would prefer to go her entire life never knowing the identity of. The nurse shook her head once Danni’s hand was bandaged up and on its way to healing. “What happened?”

Danni looked at Harry pleadingly as he opened his mouth, and he rolled his eyes. “We were, uh, running around outside, and she tripped and skinned her hand.”

The nurse narrowed her eyes, obviously not believing him, but not willing to argue. “Well, hurry along Mr Potter, there’s nothing you can do here, and she needs some rest.”

Harry nodded, and after giving Danni’s hand a reassuring squeeze, he hurried away.


	26. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was all written in a tired stupor, so I apologize for any mistakes.

Harry took his time getting back to the Gryffindor common room. He had a strong feeling that he wasn’t going to like whatever he found there, including his friends. While it was true that he had maybe been spending a little more time with Danni than them, he hoped that his friends trusted him enough to know that he hadn’t cheated. He had never put his name into the goblet.

He realized with a start that he had forgotten to ask Danni how exactly his name had been put into the cup, and it was too late to head back to the infirmary now. He knew from experience that Madam Pomfrey could rain hell on students who felt they should be allowed to stick around even after it was past the time that all students should be in bed.

Harry sighed, and kept walking. He finally got to the painting of the fat lady that would lead to Gryffindor. He had taken every side path and long route that he could think of, but there was no more avoiding it. He took a deep breath, muttered the password to the lady in the painting, and when it swung off the wall, he cautiously stepped through the short tunnel. 

Surprisingly, there weren’t a ton of people in the common room. It was just Ron, Hermione, and Seamus. They were talking quietly amongst themselves, but stopped as soon as they saw Harry step towards them. Seamus jumped off, and hurried to the fourth year boys’ dorm room, murmuring excuses.

Harry sat on the armchair across from the couch that his two best friends were occupying. Ron had a sour look on his face, and his arms were crossed over his chest. Hermione’s face was harder to read, but Harry was pretty sure that she wasn’t nearly as pissed. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well. This is all pretty crazy, right?”

Ron snorted. Hermione shot him a glance to let him know that his opinion wasn’t currently wanted, and for that, Harry felt grateful. He didn’t want to hear such blatant disapproval from his best friend. Hermione sighed. “Harry, just be honest… did you knowingly put your name into the goblet?”

Harry felt hurt that his friends even doubted him at all, but he could understand it. If he was in their place, he would probably doubt himself. It’s not like he hasn’t been known for being above the rules that everyone else has to follow. He shook his head adamantly. “I swear, when my name was called, I was just as surprised as everyone else. I never even thought of trying to sneak my name into the cup.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “It’s great that you were chosen, mate, I’m so, so, happy for you. But why didn’t you even tell me, your best friend? Why did you think that it would be cool to just have one more thing that can’t be shared with me? Don’t worry about it, I’m just the kid that everyone thinks befriended you for my five minutes of fame, and of course, you had to go and get yourself right in the middle of everything that happens at this school. I’m sick and tired of following around in your shadow!”

Harry had had a long day, and he was in no way prepared for that sort of outburst. He was tired, and cranky, and wasn’t in the mood for rational thinking. “If you’re so tired of following me around, then maybe you should just stop.”

Ron stood up, his hands balled into fists. There was a second where Harry saw the hurt in Ron’s eyes, but then it was gone, replaced with anger. “You know what? I think I will!” He stormed off in the direction of the dorm rooms.

Harry groaned. “That was horrible, I know.”

He peered up at Hermione, and to his relief, she didn’t appear to be too judgemental. “Harry… I’m concerned. The tournament was originally cancelled a couple hundred years ago because one of the champions died. And you seem to attract trouble wherever you go. What if something unforeseen comes up, and you get hurt?”

Harry shrugged. He hadn’t really been thinking that far in advance. His thoughts were more along the lines of the more imminent, such as facing the entire Hufflepuff house with them all knowing that he was the one competing with their champion.

Harry frowned. “There’s really no need to be worried. I’m sure that they’ve set up lots of safety measures, to make sure that nobody dies, or even gets seriously injured. Don’t worry about it.”

Hermione stood up, so she could tower over Harry. “Safety measures? Like when they put in an age limit, no champions under seventeen years old? That kind of thing, is that what you mean?”

Harry stood up, uncomfortable while sitting in the shadow of his friend. “That’s different. Special circumstances and all that.”

“What special circumstances?”

Harry shrugged apologetically. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. It’s pretty much supposed to stay a big secret that not everyone knows about. The entire purpose of a secret would be defeated if I told you.”

Hermione nodded. “Alright. Well, have they at least given you information? Something to help you figure out what’s going on?” Harry shook his head, so Hermione continued. “If you want to know more about the tournament, I could help you, if you want. I don’t have anything in particular planned for tomorrow, and the sooner you get educated, the better off you’ll be.”

Harry grinned sheepishly. “Actually, tomorrow’s not so great for me. I need to visit my friend Danni in the infirmary.” He made sure to put the emphasis on ‘friend’, so that Hermione wouldn’t look too much into the platonic relationship. 

Hermione nodded, though she looked discouraged. “Alright, well how about another day-?”

Harry cut her off. “Listen, Hermione, I really don’t mean to be rude here, but I don’t think that there’s anything for you to do that can help me.”

Hermione’s face turned into a blank frown, obviously fake. Harry felt a little guilty, but he kept that to himself. He was in the tournament either way, so he planned on at least winning it. That would involve training, on his own, with Dumbledore, or someone of a similar caliber. His friend just shook her head. “You know, someday you’re going to have to accept the fact that everyone needs help sometimes, even the famous Harry Potter. You know where to find me if you need me.”

With that, she turned in the opposite direction of Ron, to get to the fourth year girls’ dorm room. Harry sank down into the armchair cushion, and stared at the empty fireplace forlornly. He wasn’t sure whether or not he would prefer to be surrounded by many people, or left alone with his thoughts. He couldn’t decide, so he chose the easiest decision to make.

Harry made his way to the dorm room, changed out of his robes, and slipped into bed. He could feel how thick the air was, from the built up accusations of his roommates who all believed him to be some attention seeking cheater. There was also jealousy. Many of them had wanted to prove that they had what it takes to be a champion, but would never get the chance.

But Harry could see the more ominous intentions behind the basic act. Someone had wanted him to be in the tournament, most likely someone connected to a certain Dark Lord, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort.


	27. Danni

Danni yawned, and sat up. She stretched her arms up over her head, and was glad to note that she couldn’t feel any pain in her hands. She was curious about whether or not the school nurse was able to successfully heal her entirely, so she unwrapped the bandages that were carefully around her wounds, and frowned.

If anything, the skinned hands looked even worse than last night, and they were still actively bleeding. Danni got up, not caring that she was smearing her blood over the white sheets. She was getting tired of spending time in the infirmary, and she just wanted to get away. She was freaking out. She needed to tell someone about what she had seen last night, so they would know that Harry being entered in the tournament is a setup.

She was wearing some generic pajamas that Madame Pomfrey had given her to change in to, but luckily her robes were close by. They had even been washed and folded, which was nice. Danni awkwardly picked up the uniform, and as soon as she did, she felt the pain in her hands. She grit her teeth and struggled to get dressed.

Once she was finished, taking much longer than normal, her hands felt like they were on fire, and she sloppily tried to rewrap them, though it wasn’t nearly as good as what the nurse had been able to do. Danni looked around, and saw that her shoes were nowhere in sight, and she just shrugged. It wasn’t her feet that needed protection.

She ran out into the hallway, the stone floors extra slippery beneath her socks. She managed to slide slash walk to where the staircase leading to Dumbledore’s office was, and she hoped that he was in, even if it was pretty early in the morning. Or at least, Danni assumed it was early, since it was still dark out. But she didn’t actually have a watch to go by. 

Danni stood there next to the wall that she was sure led to the old man’s office, but the wall didn’t open up and reveal that moving staircase, so Danni wasn’t sure what to do. She wasn’t really looking forward to the idea of waiting around for the headmaster to let her in, and she wasn’t sure where exactly the man slept, so she couldn’t seek him out.

The girl paused for a moment, hoping that maybe the wall would suddenly open before she turned to leave, but she was left disappointed. Danni decided to go back to her dorm room, and wait to seek out the man at breakfast. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too late for her to explain everything.

As Danni walked back to Ravenclaw, she couldn’t help thinking about the consequences. If she wanted Harry to be removed from the tournament, she would have to explain why, and not just to Dumbledore. She would have to tell everyone who was involved, which would mean she would have to out herself as a mind reader.

She shivered at the thought. Danni had gone her whole life believing that what she could do was a curse more than anything, and that she should never tell anyone. Her parents had always drilled that into her head, that she was never supposed to let anyone know what made her so different from other witches and wizards. But her parents had never told her what to do when it came down to choosing between keeping her secret and keeping her friend safe. She wondered what they would say if they knew what she was contemplating.

Danni paused when she heard urgent voices, and even if she couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying by listening with her ears, it was too easy to slip into eavesdropping mode by listening with her mind.

“Well, did she at least say what happened?” Danni recognized the voice of Professor Flitwick, and felt a little annoyed that he was out here talking, and blocking the way she needed to go to get back to her dorm.

The response was Madame Pomfrey’s. “They said that she slipped and fell. Skinned her hands. But I tried every healing spell that I know, and that only seemed to make matters worse. There’s no way such a simple injury would be so stubborn to heal.”

Danni slapped her hand over her mouth to prevent the gasp that had been about to slip out. They were talking about her. She felt a wave of guilt for leaving the infirmary so suddenly without saying anything. Danni looked down at her hands, which felt like they had been dipped in a vat of acid or something, and tugged the bandages a little tighter.

She put on a casual face, making sure not to show that she was in any pain. She didn’t want to be bedridden, she needed to tell Dumbledore about what had happened. But if she was forced back into the infirmary, she wouldn’t get a chance to tell everything to the old man. She took a few steps, then walked forward and turned the corner. It was easy enough to pretend that she was surprised to stumble upon the two adults.

Madame Pomfrey had a strange look on her face, and Danni stepped forward slowly. “Oh, uh, Madame Pomfrey, I was going to tell you that I feel much better now. My hands seemed to have healed up nicely on their own, so I let myself out. I didn’t want to bother you.”

The nurse put her hands on her hips and stared at Danni with disbelief. “I’m supposed to believe that your hands are healed when those normally white sheets are stained red? I don’t think so.”

Danni looked at the woman pleadingly. “Please, I swear, I’m fine. That blood is probably just from last night.”

The nurse shook her head. “You’re being suspiciously stubborn.”

Danni looked over at Flitwick, who wasn’t much shorter than her, as sad as that was. “Professor. I’m sorry if you were woken up because of me, but there really is no problem here. I should be fine after some proper bed rest.”

Pomfrey shook her head. “I doubt that very much. But if you are going to insist on sleep, then it would be best done in the infirmary, where I can keep an eye on you.”

Flitwick tilted his head, then reached out his hand as he came to a decision. “It’s only polite to shake someone’s hand when you bump into them in the hallway.”

Danni knew what he was doing, throwing a test at her, like if she was able to shake his hand without feeling pain, then she would pass. The injuries on her hands felt like something had bitten the flesh of her palms right off, and it was even worse when there was the slightest friction or pressure against her hands, but she could do this.

Danni reached out and grabbed his hand to shake it. Seeing her grimace of pain, he immediately snatched his hand back, and looked down at it. There was now fresh blood on the midget’s hand, and it came from Danni, who realized too late that the bandage was soaked through completely, and no longer able to properly do its job.

Flitwick frowned. “This seems to be very serious. You are to go back to the infirmary with Madame Pomfrey, and do whatever she tells you to.”

Danni frowned. “But you don’t understand. I need to talk to the ol- to Dumbledore. It’s urgent!” 

The professor sighed. “Alright, well, you can just tell me, and I’ll be sure to pass along the message.”

Danni hesitated. She wasn’t ready for anyone other than the old man to know the truth quite yet, even if it would have to come out eventually. So she just shook her head. “Er, can you just ask him to stop by as soon as possible? It really is very important, a matter of life or death.”

The professor nodded, and watched as Danni and the nurse left, making sure that she was actually following the woman. Once the returned to the infirmary, Danni was handed a fresh set of pajamas to change into, and she was led to a bed with clean sheets. She obliged, and the nurse gave her something to drink, for the pain. 

It made her feel sleepy, and Danni couldn’t help falling asleep, glad that her hands no longer felt like they had gone through a meat grinder.


	28. Harry

Harry woke up early, just as the sun was beginning to rise. It was unusual for him to be up before his alarm clock woke him, but he decided that it was a good thing. Rather than falling back asleep, he could go to the library and get some research done, to try and figure out what exactly would be expected of him in the Triwizard Tournament.

Harry pulled on his uniform, though he left his robes in the trunk, not really feeling in the mood to be wearing them. He pulled on his shoes, and left his dorms, going to the common room. To his surprise, Hermione was already there, kneeling in front of the short table with several textbooks spread open in front of her.

She looked up with a start when she heard Harry come in, but then frowned and turned back to her books. Harry sighed, and dropped to the floor across from her. “What are you doing?”

Hermione shrugged. “Studying. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it has been scientifically proven that studying cannot, in fact, kill you. Maybe if you tried it sometimes, you would know that for yourself.”

Harry held his hands out in a placating gesture. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Listen, about last night… I’m sorry I rejected your help. That was stupid of me. You’re one of the smartest people I know, and you’re a whiz at researching and finding spells, and well, pretty much everything. If your offer still stands… then I’d be honored to accept your help.”

Hermione stared at Harry scrutinizingly, and he shifted uncomfortably in her gaze. She had a slight frown on her face. “I thought you said that there was nothing I could do to help you.”

Harry sighed. “I did. And I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been the greatest friend lately, but so much has happened, and this tournament…” He lowered his voice. “I’m scared. I know there are all those safety measures in place, but after knowing… what I know, there’s no way for me to not be scared.”

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. “What is it that you know, exactly?”

Harry took a deep breath. “Listen… can you keep a secret?”

***

Ron arrived at the Great Hall a few minutes after Harry and Hermione, who had gone down together after spending a couple of hours in the library. Harry still felt a little uneasy about sharing Danni’s secret, but he knew that Hermione was trustworthy, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to receive the full extent of her help if she didn’t even know the full story. 

Ron decided to sit at the other end of the table, with his brothers and their friends. Harry could feel Hermione’s disapproval radiating off of her, but he wasn’t sure if it was directed at him or if it was aimed at the ginger. Probably both. She obviously disagreed with their methods of ignoring each other, both waiting for the other to crack first.

Harry was confident that he would win this one though, because Ron needed him more than he needed Ron. They were best friends, sure, but if Ron was going to go and doubt him along with everyone else, then Harry had no place for him.

As they were waiting for everyone to be seated, and the food to appear, Harry couldn’t help looking around, especially in the direction of Ravenclaw, for Danni. He was worried about her, and was planning on visiting her in the infirmary as soon as the meal was concluded, and Hermione had insisted on going with him.

Harry was half afraid that Danni would be pissed at him for letting his friend in on the secret, but it had been necessary, and it had to mean something that he was going to confess. And technically, he had no obligation to keep that secret anyways, since Danni had broken off all deals that had been between them.

Once everyone was seated at their proper tables, which were all a lot more crowded with the addition of all the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students who were crammed in, Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. 

After a minute, everyone’s conversations had died down, and they were all staring up at the Hogwart’s headmaster in silence, waiting for him to say whatever he needed to. “I would just like to thank everyone for their support and participation in this tournament. The four champions need to assemble back here in the Great Hall before lunch. Have a pleasant breakfast. Thank you.” He sat down, and the food all appeared on the tables, like usual.

Hermione and Harry both exchanged a glance, curious about what the champions would need to do, and there was an unspoken promise that Harry would tell Hermione about everything that happens.

After they were finished eating, Harry and Hermione were the first ones to leave the Hall, and if anyone noticed, they didn’t say anything. The two Gryffindors made their way to the infirmary, and entered, relieved that the door was unlocked, meaning that it was during visiting hours.

There were only two occupied beds in the room. One had a first year that had been dared to swallow a potion they had been working on in Potions class. All of the Gryffindors had heard about it, since the boy had earned five points for Gryffindor for his bravery in consuming the unknown substance, and then lost five points for being a nitwit.

The other bed had Danni, and that was the one that Harry directed Hermione towards. Danni was already awake, and she stared up at the two visitors. She raised one eyebrow. “Hello?”

Harry figured that she was confused about the presence of his friend. He nodded. “Danni, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is Danni.” And silently, he hoped that they wouldn’t completely hate each other.

Danni laughed. “I know who it is, Harry, you introduced us that first day that you made me sit with you at breakfast. Was that really so long ago that you forgot?”

Harry shook his head. “No, but I was hoping that this could be like a fresh start. Get introduced again, make new first impressions. It’s not really so much to wish for, is it?”

He felt awkward staring down at Danni while she was on her back, and he made to help her move to a sitting position. She allowed him to help, and he pushed her pillow up so it was resting between her back and the headboard. Harry took a deep breath, ready to tell Danni that he had shared her secret with his friend.

Hermione knew how tough that would be, and she felt like Harry had been punished enough already for anything he might have done wrong, so she jumped in before he had a chance to even say anything. “We’re here because Harry told me about you, and he wanted to make sure that you’re okay. Mostly the second part, though, I promise.”

Danni frowned. “What exactly did he tell you?”

Hermione sighed. “Why don’t you just read my mind to figure it out yourself?”

Danni had a strange mix of emotions running across her face, until she finally settled on a mask of indifference. “Well, I expect you to exercise caution in what you do with this information. Is there any reason specifically that you came? I’m sure Harry could have told me on his own.”

Hermione shook her head. “I just thought that you should know, that’s all. Don’t worry, I won’t go around telling people.” She hesitated, and Danni rolled her eyes. Hermione bit her lip, then spoke. “I have to know… you told Harry that you never read his mind without permission. But did you…”

Danni’s eyes flicked up to Harry briefly, then back to Hermione. She shook her head. “I would never read someone’s mind without their consent.”

Hermione let out a sigh of relief, and Harry wondered what she had been thinking that she didn’t want Danni to know about. She nodded, and reached out her hand to shake one of Danni’s. “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing you around.”

Danni started to reach out to accept the handshake, but when she pulled her hand out from under the sheets, her visitors could see her bandaged hand, and she quickly dropped it back to the bed. “Yeah, me too.”

Harry was worried that she still had bandages, and that she hadn’t wanted to shake Hermione’s hand. He decided that Madame Pomfrey just must not have gotten around to removing the wrappings yet. “Well, see you.”

Danni nodded, a strange look on her face. “Yeah, see you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just putting this out there- I am atrocious at keeping track of continuity. I try to keep the errors to a minimum, but I'm not great at catching them


	29. Danni

Danni was pacing back and forth through the infirmary. It was already almost lunch, and she still hadn’t been cleared to leave. The only other occupant of the room had just left, leaving Danni alone. Not that he had been much company in the first place, with his constant groaning and retching noises, but still. 

She looked down at her hands angrily. If only she hadn’t tried to read the mind of an ancient relic. She already knew that Crouch had to have been behind Harry’s predicament, and all she’d really learned was how he did it. And that wasn’t even the full story, since she didn’t even know what spells he used.

The door opened, and Madame Pomfrey strode in, leading Dumbledore. She pursed her lips when she saw Danni up and walking around. “You should be in bed, resting.”

Danni shrugged, and turned her attention to Dumbledore. “Ah, did F… er, Professor Flitwick inform you that I needed to see you urgently?”

Dumbledore nodded, and turned to the nurse. “Poppy, could you leave us for a few minutes?” The nurse frowned disapprovingly, but she went through the infirmary to her office that branched off in the back. He looked at Danni once the other woman had closed the door to her office. “Now, what is it that you needed to see me about so urgently?”

Danni took a deep breath, and started to clasp her hands together, as a nervous reaction. Luckily, she remembered just in time that any friction against her wounds was extremely painful, and she let her bandaged hands fall awkwardly at her sides, not really sure what to do with them. “I know how Harry was chosen.”

Dumbledore’s slightly amused expression quickly fell away, replaced with curiosity and interest. “Oh?”

The girl nodded. “Yeah. Er, yes. I read the mind of the goblet, the one that chooses the champions for the triwizard tournament. It showed me a memory of the middle of the night. The Mad-Eye Moody imposter snuck in and blasted it with some kind of befuddling charm. He confused the goblet into thinking that there was a fourth school competing, and that Harry was the only one who entered his name from that fourth school. The goblet was forced to choose him because it couldn’t leave a school with no champion.”

Dumbledore’s eyes flickered down to her injuries. “And how did that occur? Madame Pomfrey informed me that you claimed to have fell, but the wounds won’t heal, and won’t stop bleeding. That doesn’t sound like a normal injury to me.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “Fine, I had to touch the goblet to read its mind, and then it didn’t want to let me go. That poor thing is lonely, and no one has ever been able to actually fully understand it for as long as it’s been in existence. It wanted me to stay, with my mind melting into its, and it didn’t take much time at all to lose track of where the goblet ended and I began. Harry pulled me away, and this is what happened.” She held up her hands. “I’d show you the actual injuries, but I can tell Madame Pomfrey is getting tired of rewrapping them constantly. She said that a tight wrapping is the only reason I haven’t bled to death through my hands yet.”

Dumbledore frowned. “What do you expect me to do with any of this information? The part about how Harry was chosen, I mean.”

Danni sighed. “Well, if you tell everyone that I can read minds, and I mean everyone, and I prove it, then I can explain about the Moody imposter, and that Harry being chosen was a mistake, and then they can pull him out of the tournament.”

The old man stared at Danni with those piercing eyes of his. His voice was soft, but had a sharpness behind it. “And why is it so important that Harry be pulled out of the tournament? You seem determined to make it happen.”

Danni bit her lip, and tilted her head to the side as she thought. How was she supposed to explain everything without including the fact that her aunt and brother were both death eaters, and that’s how she knew that the tournament was ultimately going to lead to Harry’s death?

Danni stepped back until the back of her knees met with the edge of a bed, and she let herself flop back onto it, not caring that she wasn’t acting very formal in front of the headmaster of the school. “It’s… it’s a long story. You wouldn’t really understand. But there’s one thing that you need to take away from all this for sure. Harry needs to be taken out of the tournament, and if I reveal the deception that led to his entry being accepted, then his removal will also be accepted. Do you understand?”

The old man let out a deep breath. Danni wasn’t sure if it was a sigh of relief, or if he had just sucked in too much air while she was talking. But she didn’t really care. She had said what she needed to, and the headmaster could do what he wanted with his new knowledge. At least, Danni assumed that it was new knowledge. But knowing Dumbledore, he could have known about all of this years ago, and was just playing along to humor her.

Finally, Dumbledore spoke. His voice was gentle. “Is it possible that the only reason you want Harry taken out is because you’ve grown to have feelings for him and don’t wish to see him get hurt?”

Danni snorted, then stopped to think about it. Did she have feelings for Harry? That was a strange thought. The wizard’s friends hated her, though Hermione did seem like she was trying to be better about that, and she had even been worried that Danni might have overheard her hurtful thoughts earlier, back when they were first introduced.

And Jacob had said the same thing, that she had fallen for the boy who lived. Maybe there really was something to all those fan girls who were constantly surrounding Harry. But they didn’t know him like Danni knew him. 

Danni sighed. “Listen, whatever my feelings are on the subject, it bears no relevance. If Harry stays in the tournament, then he will die. It’s not a ‘maybe’ or a ‘possibly’, it’s a ‘the dark lord is coming to kill him and will do whatever he wants until then’. So you need to do everything in your power to get him out of the tournament. To keep him safe. To keep him alive.”

Dumbledore had that annoying amused look again. “And how would you know something like this, Ms Cobb? Did the goblet tell you the dark lords explicit plans that involve murdering one of my students?”

Danni heaved a sigh. “You can believe me or not, that’s your prerogative. But if you’re not going to step up and help Harry get out of this, then I will. And I don’t care what it will cost.” 

Dumbledore nodded. “I’m afraid that legally, the rules are set in stone, and there is nothing I can do. But if someone were to go to the Ministry of Magic and explain what they knew, I’m sure that there’s no way I would be able to stop that student. Good day, Ms Cobb. I have a weighing of the wands to watch over.”

Danni watched the old man leave, a scowl on her face. If he was encouraging her to go the Ministry, then he was certainly encouraging her to go to her death. Voldemort had many spies there, and they would surely tell him that there was someone trying to stop his plans. Danni paused. Even with the risk of death, didn’t she at least have to try?


	30. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of update last week. There was a bad nor'easter in my area, and the power was out Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Harry walked into the Great Hall, and saw that Fleur and Cedric were already waiting. Dumbledore, Ludo Bagman, and a couple of reporters, were standing together in a small group, talking. Harry spotted Mr Ollivander, and the wand maker smiled politely. A couple minutes later, Viktor walked in, and Mr Bagman turned to address the four students.

Dumbledore smiled. “May I introduce you to Mr Ollivander? He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament.”

Mr Bagman cleared his throat. “When your name is called, please step forward to present your wands for inspection. I can assure you, it is quite painless.”

They were each called to step forward one by one, the reporters’ quills scribbling away on their pads of paper. Harry couldn’t help thinking that having reporters was kind of useless, since they never actually seemed to take any of their own notes, and might as well just let the quills write the final article.

When it was Harry’s turn, he stepped forward, and handed his wand over to Mr Ollivander. He nodded approvingly as he turned it over in his hands and took note of all the details. “Ah, yes. Thirteen and a half inches, yew with a phoenix feather core. Nice and supple.” He closed his eyes and held out his own wand to Harry’s, a slight frown on his face. “You certainly haven’t been going easy on the poor thing. I hope you don’t wear it out too soon.”

Harry nodded, and gratefully took his wand back when the wandmaker held it out. He slipped it into his pocket, and Dumbledore smiled. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? There’s still a few minutes left before lunch, so if anyone has any questions, now would be an excellent time to ask them.”

The champions stood silently, eyeing each other out of the corners of their eyes. A few minutes later, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and students began pouring in, taking their seats at their house tables. The champions dispersed, and as Harry turned to walk over to the Gryffindor table, he felt a strong arm grab his elbow.

He turned and saw the wandmaker standing there, a thoughtful frown on his face. “Mr Potter, you… your wand is not right.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “Is there something wrong with it? Why didn’t you say anything before?”

The man shook his head. “No, I have no doubt that it will serve you very well. After all, it chose you and wanted you to be the one to wield it. But there’s just something, something that’s bothering me about all of this. And I am not sure what exactly that something is. I advise you to be careful, Mr Potter. Yew symbolizes death, and I wouldn’t want to see that wand bring about yours.”

Harry frowned with confusion. “But you just said that it will serve me we-”

Mr Ollivander nodded. “Yes, yes, I know what I said. But I also know that something is very wrong. I get a strange feeling with your wand, like maybe you showed me the wrong one or something. But I remember you purchasing it from my store, and it didn’t seem nearly so wrong then. I’m not sure what to tell you, Mr Potter, other than to be wary.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t understand…”

But the man let go and slipped into the crowd, presumably to leave the building with the reporters. Harry sighed. Even when his life was going semi-normal, weird things still happened, just to keep it interesting, maybe. He went to his normal spot at the table, and tried to ignore the dirty looks he was getting from some of his own classmates, and even friends. This wasn’t exactly what he had had in mind for this year.

Once lunch was over, everyone left the Great Hall, some to get to their next classes, some to go enjoy one of the last nice days of the year. Soon it would be too cold for anybody to spend time outside, and many wanted to relish it while they could. 

Harry was wandering down the hallway, still deciding what he should do. He didn’t have any class to get to, but he wasn’t really in the mood to go outside. He leaned against a wall, indecisiveness written on his face. Harry thought about the tournament, and he wondered what the tasks were going to be. He was now grateful that he was Seeker on the Gryffindor team, though there was no competition between the houses this year, because it meant that he was in pretty decent shape if any of the tasks involved running around. 

He was brought out of his reverie by the sound of someone clearing their throat, and he blinked a few times before his eyes could focus properly on the girl in front of him. He recognized the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw robes, and the girl looked vaguely familiar. She had her hands on her hips, and a bored expression on her face.

“You’re Harry, right?” He nodded. She sighed. “Thank goodness. I mean, this is already interrupting valuable studying time, and I can’t help but wonder what she possibly sees in you, but anyways, Danni asked me to tell you that she needs to speak to you. She’s still in the infirmary, that’s why she couldn’t come to you.” When he continued to stay silent, she rolled her eyes. “Well, at least you’re not a motor mouth. Just nod if you understand, okay?” Harry nodded, and the girl turned and walked away.

The young wizard wondered if maybe it was just a Ravenclaw thing, that made all of the girls immune to him. He shrugged, and began to head to the infirmary, with worry gnawing at his stomach. He had assumed that Danni would be released after they had seen her in the morning, but apparently not, and now Harry was worried about the severity of her wounds.

He opened the door to the infirmary once he arrived, and there was a whole gaggle of people, all shouting and pushing past each other while Madame Pomfrey did her best to flit around and treat each person. He managed to squeeze by them all, and he made it to Danni’s bed without being squished into a wall or something.

She was sitting up, her hands resting lightly on her lap, and she brightened when she saw Harry approaching. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you so quickly. I would have expected you to wait out this mess.”

Harry smiled. “Yeah, what exactly happened?”

Danni shrugged. “From what I can tell, something exploded. It’s very interesting actually. When I get the picture from each person, I can combine all their perspectives to form the full picture. It’s really rather neat.”

Harry looked around with concern to make sure no one was listening to Danni, since she hadn’t bothered to lower her voice, and then realized that no one was paying any attention to the bed-ridden girl. “So, what is it you needed to see me about?”

Danni sighed. This time she did lower her voice, and Harry had to lean in closer to hear her. “I think that I need to go to the Ministry of Magic and tell them what I saw, so they can pull you out of the tournament. If you stay in, you’ll surely die.”

Harry’s smile immediately dropped away. “What are you talking about?” Danni clenched her hands into fists, and Harry almost missed her grimace of pain. He glanced down, and saw the scarlet bleeding through the bandages. Harry grabbed her wrists, and Danni looked at him in surprise. “Don’t do that.” He took a deep breath. “Please, just tell me what you saw.”

Danni took a few deep breaths, but her chest wasn’t rising and falling as much as it should, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on her skin. Danni’s eyes seemed to roll to the back of her head, and then she fell back onto the bed, her chest barely moving at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the description of Harry’s wand is wrong, and in the books, that would be Voldemort’s wand. But please bear with me. The differences between the original books and my story are going to get less and less subtle, but it will all be explained eventually.


	31. Danni

Danni could hear sounds, but they were slow and strange, like trying to listen to a conversation underwater. There were voices, but they sounded odd and Danni couldn’t tell what they were trying to say. She strained to listen, but all that did is give her a headache. Danni looked around, and saw that she was in what looked like some kind of train. It wasn’t as fancy as the Hogwarts’ Express, but it was still nice.

As she stood up to go explore the train, the strange underwater voices stopped, and Danni was able to focus completely on her surroundings. She went out into the hall, and looked around, trying to see if there was anybody else on board. It didn’t strike her as strange when she noticed that there was not, she was the only passenger.

The train lurched to a stop, and Danni stumbled forward a few steps. She looked out the windows, but all she could see was darkness, and that made her shiver. So Danni found the closest door, and it opened as soon as she approached. She stepped onto the platform, and looked around. 

It was like a train station, but very strange. There was someone sitting at a table, sort of like a picnic table, and Danni went over to them. They were facing the other way, so all she could see was the neat blonde hair. “Hello?”

There was no response, so Danni went around the table, and frowned at the person sitting there. He looked about as old as her parents, and he had pleasant features. Soft blonde hair and warm brown eyes, but his mouth was in a concerned grimace. When he saw Danni, he sighed. “What are you doing here?”

The witch shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s where the train dropped me off.”

The man’s eyes widened a little bit, and he shook his head. “Where were you before you were on the train?”

Danni frowned as she tried to remember, but it was making her headache worse. Finally, she shrugged again. “I have no bloody idea.”

The man groaned, and rubbed his hands against his eyes, like he was exhausted. “You shouldn’t be here.” But then his harsh mouth softened into what could be considered an affectionate smile. “Though I must insist that you leave, it is nice to be able to see you.”

Danni furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What are you talking about? Who are you? And where are we?”

The man looked around in surprise, like he was just noticing their surroundings for the first time. He moved to stand up, but a dark look crossed his face, and he sat back down. “Well, it would seem like we’re in some kind of train station. Not exactly what I expected, but I guess you can’t really be picky at times like this. As to who I am… that’s a more difficult one to explain.”

Danni crossed her arms over her chest. “Try me.”

The man took a deep breath. “Alright, alright. Here’s the thing… a few years ago… or judging from your appearance it’s more like over a decade ago at this point, I got my girlfriend pregnant. I had no idea that she was a witch at the time, since apparently she decided that that wasn’t really something I needed to know. We were going to get married and raise the baby together. I found out about magic when my daughter of two weeks was floating up near the ceiling, giggling. Her mother got a kick out of using magic to entertain the kid. So she told me about everything, and, as bad as it sounds, I decided to leave. And I wanted to take our baby with me, so she wouldn’t be caught up in the madness.” He took a deep breath.

Danni frowned. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

The man ignored the girl, and continued his story. “It turns out that not only was a witch, but one who had sided with some kind of magical terrorist. She came after me, so I panicked. I knew that the woman was out of contact with her sister, ever since her sister had shunned her for having magic. So out of desperation, I brought the child there, and begged her aunt and uncle to watch over her until I could return and take her somewhere safe. They obliged. It was a couple years later that the woman I once loved tracked me down, and she literally tortured her baby’s location out of me. She left me to die, and well, I’ve been here ever since.”

Danni’s eyes widened. “So you’re saying that you’re dead? And if I’m here, does that mean that I’m dead too?”

The man shook his head with a look of frustration. “I didn’t tell you that story so you could get crazed. I told you because you have your mother’s looks, and I’ve been waiting here for my daughter.”

It took a moment for Danni to realize what the man was saying. Once it had sunk in, she collapsed onto the bench opposite the man. “So what you’re saying… is that Aunt Judy is…?” She rested her hand on her hands. “None of this makes any sense.”

The man nodded miserably. “I know. I know that this whole situation is messed up. But whatever’s going on, you have to go back. Just get back onto the train, and don’t get off.”

Danni shrugged. “What’s the point?” Then she peered up at the man. “What’s your name?”

He smiled. “David. What’s yours?”

Danni laughed. “Daniella. But most people call me Danni. Why don’t you even know my name?”

David sighed. “If I let them call you by the name that your mother knew you as, then it wouldn’t have taken her very long at all to find you. Honestly, what surprises me most is that she let her sister and brother-in-law take you in as their own.”

Danni didn’t know why either. But she had always felt closer to her aunt than her parents, so maybe Judy had known what she was doing after all. Then something occurred to Danni, and she frowned. “Why am I such a freak?”

David’s frown matched hers. “What do you mean?”

The teen sighed. “So then I guess no one told you that I can read minds. And before you ask, there are no spells that allow people to read minds, and I’ve been able to do it my whole life.”

David looked impressed by the unique talent. “I have no idea. I mean, your mother may have sided with the most powerful wizard of the time, but from what I could tell, she wasn’t too endowed when it came to magic. She was on the weaker end of the scale. So I don’t have a clue about how that would equal you being able to do something that no one else can.”

Danni sighed. “I should have known that you wouldn’t know. I don’t think there’s a single person on this planet who could tell me why I’m such a freak of nature. I mean, it’s ridiculous. Before I learned to control it, I had constant voices and emotions berating me everywhere I went, and my parents know about it, and a few other people have recently been informed, but my parents always told me to hide it.”

David shrugged. “Maybe they’re the ones who are hiding something.”

Danni waved away the idea. “Nah, I don’t think so.” She frowned. “Before, did you say that Judy was out of contact with her sister because she was a muggle?” David nodded. “But both of my parents are magical, and so’s my older brother. Maybe you’re mistaken, and I’m not really your daughter, and you just made a simple mistake.”

David frowned. “No, I distinctly remember Judy mentioning that her sister was a muggle. I don’t understand why she would lie about something like that.”

Danni stood up abruptly. “Well, the only way to find out is to ask them, and the only way to ask them is to go back, right?” She smirked. “Plus I need to save Harry because he’s too stupid to get himself out of this mess.” She walked around the table, and surprised David by pulling him into a hug. “Thanks for everything.” She ran over to the platform, and the train was still waiting there for her, though it looked like it was about to start moving any minute. Danni turned her head. “Hey, if you see Harry’s parents, tell them that I won’t let anything happen to their son, okay?”

He smiled. “You… I wish that I could have been your father. I mean, the one who raised you, not the one who shares DNA. I doubt that it means anything to you, but I’m proud of you.”

Danni laughed. “My parents have never told me that before, so it means the world to me, I promise.”

Then she leaped onto the train and waved as the station was immediately whisked out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks- no, Danni is not related in any way to Harry. I know some people saw the whole sister shunned her for having magic bit as automatically making Danni's mom Lily or something, when I just thought that that probably wouldn't be a rare occurrence. Who wouldn't be jealous or upset if they found out that a sibling had magic while they didn't?


	32. Harry

Harry bolted up and shouted for help, but Madame Pomfrey was already overwhelmed with helping all of the students who had been involved in that stupid explosion, and she had her hands completely full. Danni was lying there, and it was almost impossible to see the rise and fall of her chest.

Suddenly, there was a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Harry spun around to see Dumbledore standing behind him, looking deadly serious. And when there was no twinkle in the headmaster’s eyes, things had to be very bad. He gently propelled Harry away from the bed, and pulled out his wand to point at Danni.

His frown deepened as he stared at Danni like she was confusing him by not responding to whatever silent spell he had cast. Then Professor Snape and the Moody imposter both hurried into the infirmary, heading straight to Danni’s bed. Harry stood in front of the unconscious girl protectively, not wanting those two jerks to get their hands on her.

Dumbledore murmured softly so that only Harry could hear him. “Step aside, Harry. They are only here to help.” Harry knew that Dumbledore knew about the imposter, but he still seemed to trust the man, so after a moment of hesitation, he took a few steps back, and leaned against the wall. The three teachers looked at each other and held some sort of conversation that Harry couldn’t understand, since no words were exchanged.

They all pulled out their wands, and Harry stiffened when he saw the imposter’s weapon come out. He forced himself to relax, though, because the situation was already out of his control, there was nothing he could do about it, and Dumbledore said that they were only there to help, so he might as well stand back and let them.

Danni’s face seemed to get even paler, and Harry curled his hands into fists, not caring that his nails were digging painfully into his palms. The headmaster and two professors all pointed their wands in unison, and a pale red light came out of them, joining in the center before going into Danni. The light seemed to sink right into her skin, and Harry had no idea what spell they were using, and he didn’t care, as long as it worked. After a few agonizingly long minutes, Danni groaned, and the red light grew darker.

Then she began to cough uncontrollably, and her eyes fluttered open. Snape handed her a small cloth, and she wiped her chin, a grimace on her face when she saw the scarlet stain. Danni sighed, and took a few deep breaths, content to just sit there and breath. It wasn’t until another few minutes later that the red light trickled away, though the wizards were still gripping their wands, ready to use them at a moment’s notice. 

Danni blinked slowly, and looked around, her eyes finally landing on Harry, and she grinned. “Hey. I have something to tell you.” Then she frowned, and made a noise of frustration. Harry wished for a moment that he was the one who could read minds, because then he would be able to hear exactly what Danni was thinking. Then he brushed the thought aside, since he knew that the way it was supposed to work was that if someone wanted you to know something, they would tell you.

Danni pushed herself up into a sitting position, and looked down at her hands with a slight frown. Harry could see why she would be upset, since that small movement seemed to have gotten her hands bleeding again, and she rolled her eyes. “I feel as though this could be a seriously crippling thing that has happened to me. I can’t even get dressed without my stupid hands gushing blood again. What’s up with that?” Then she seemed to finally take in the fact that the Moody imposter and Snape and Dumbledore were all standing around her bed, and she narrowed her eyes. “What happened?”

Snape was the one who responded. “You lost too much blood through the injuries in your hands, so you passed out. Just a few minutes longer, and you would have bled to death. Perhaps there is a lesson to learn somewhere in here?”

Danni shook her head. “How… what did you do that made me… not die?”

Snape frowned. “We replaced as much of your missing blood as possible with a synthetic version. It won’t be quite what you’re used to.”

Danni gulped. “Oh, uh, okay then. What will it be like?”

The Moody imposter decided to break into the conversation. “It won’t be as good at carrying oxygen through your body as your real blood is, especially to your brain. You’ll probably feel light headed from lack of oxygen, and very dizzy if you try to move around too much. What exactly did you do to yourself to get so badly hurt? Normally we would just patch up your hands and be done with it.”

Danni’s eyes flicked over to Harry and Dumbledore, but neither seemed like they were about to spill her secret, so she just shrugged casually. “I uh, may have slipped, and like the klutz that I am, I skinned my hands. Whoops, my bad, hehe.”

Snape frowned suspiciously. “Usually, when one skins their hands, it results in small cuts, and minimal bleeding, it clots fairly quickly, and they can go on with their lives. It does not involve one losing the entire layer of skin that was on their hands, and then refuse to heal no matter what.”

Danni pursed her lips, but she wasn’t going to elaborate on the subject. She had fallen, when Harry tugged her away from the goblet, and she had skinned her hands, when they had been removed from the goblet, so there wasn’t too much lying going on in her statement. She cleared her throat. “So, uh, if you can’t heal my hands, and I keep losing blood, are you just going to keep refilling me with a cheap substitute? That can’t really be a permanent solution, can it?”

Snape shook his head. “Of course not. If all the blood in your body was replaced with what you call a ‘cheap substitute’, though it is actually made through a very complicated and expensive process, then you wouldn’t get nearly enough oxygen and you would die.”

Danni sighed. “So pretty much, what you’re saying is that I’m screwed either way. I’ll either bleed to death, through my hands, of all things, or I’ll go brain dead from lack of oxygen, and then actual dead. This is going to be such a blast.” She turned to Dumbledore. “Can you guys give me a minute? I need to speak to Harry rather urgently.”

The headmaster paused, then nodded his head, and he beckoned for the other two to follow him out of the infirmary, even though they could have stuck around and helped out with the victims of the explosion. Harry looked at Danni expectantly. “So? What is it?”

Danni frowned. “This is going to sound crazy, but I know how you were entered into the tournament. I forgot to tell you before, the imposter tricked the cup into thinking that there was a fourth school in the competition, and entered you as the only possible choice, which means that you had to be chosen as the champion.”

Harry frowned. “Danni… that’s not really important right now. What matters is that you get some much needed rest, and you heal properly.”

Danni frowned. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Harry looked at her seriously, and he felt like there was something important that she was hiding from him. But there was no way he was going to try and coax anything out of the stubborn girl after he had just told her that she needed to go to sleep. “I’ll come see you later, okay?”

Danni nodded. “Yeah, see you later.”


	33. Danni

Danni had no intention of still being anywhere near the infirmary by the time that Harry was planning on returning, whenever that was. She may be at a slight disadvantage currently, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. Harry needed to be pulled from the tournament, and if Danni was the one that made that happen, she would be killed by Voldemort. And that was a much cooler way to go than just bleeding out from the hands. That was just lame.

This was her chance. Madame Pomfrey still had her hands full with all the victims of the explosion. And they at least wanted the nurse’s help, so even if she spotted Danni scampering away, she still had an obligation to help those other students. Danni never thought that she would feel so grateful for some freak accident like that to happen.

But if she waited too long, the crowd would die down, and there would be no confusion to slip away under. Danni got up carefully, trying not to jostle her hands too much. She pulled on her robes over the pajamas, not bothering to change into her uniform. It would be too much of a hassle. She stepped into her shoes, and wiggled her feet until the shoes were on all the way.

Then it was only a matter of keeping her hands down at her sides, where they were hidden by the robes, and walked like she was supposed to be leaving. She knew from experience that if someone acts like they’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing, no one suspects otherwise.

But just in case, she kept her mind open to the minds around her. If she felt an alarm go off, she would have no choice but to run. And what would anyone do about it? Tackle the dying student to the ground and lock her up in her room like a prisoner? No, more likely if she was caught, she would be expelled. Which is why she couldn’t let herself be caught, at least not until after she made sure that Harry was safe.

Danni didn’t glance around, despite her instincts that were telling her to, because it would look suspicious, and she would only truly know if she’d been seen if she was watching it happen in the person’s mind.

Danni let out a sigh of relief once she was in the hallway, and the infirmary door was closed behind her. She began to speed up a little bit, and hoped that it wasn’t during a class time or something. Hopefully everyone was just at lunch or dinner or occupied somewhere that didn’t involve wandering the halls.

She hurried to the back door by the kitchens, the one that she had used to get some fresh air after the overwhelming excitement of the goblet choosing the champions for the tournament. She pushed it open cautiously, almost like she was afraid that some alarm was going to go off, even though she had used this door multiple times before, and a door alarm was a muggle technology that wasn’t going to be found anywhere at Hogwarts.

Danni closed the door behind her, taking deep breaths as she pretended not to notice the painful friction on her palms. This really was a pain in the butt injury. Why had she ever thought reading the mind of the goblet had been a good idea? All it had gotten her was some useless memories… 

Danni grinned. All she would have to do to prove her truth-telling would be to show the ministry of magic the goblet’s memory in a pensive, and then they would know that she wasn’t lying, and they would be able to bend the rules to extract Harry from the competition. 

Danni jumped in surprise when she heard someone clear their throat nearby, and she heard footsteps coming closer. From the chaotic state of mind, she recognized Crouch, and she wanted to find a nice hole to dive into and hide in. But maybe there would be some way to work this to her favor, and she doubted that Crouch would accept Jacob doing anything as cowardly as hiding. 

Crouch turned around the corner wall, and as he got closer, his eye seemed to widen in surprise a little bit. “What are you doing out here? You’re no good to anybody if you die.” Then he frowned, and his eye narrowed, the fake eye swiveling all around as it tried to figure Danni out. “And how did you get such a severe injury? And I don’t want to hear that slipped and fell bullshit, either.”

Danni cursed under her breath. “Listen, I don’t really have time for this. I have… important things that I need to be doing, and if I don’t get them done, then the plan won’t work.”

Crouch was looking at Danni suspiciously, and she had to force herself to just stand there casually, like she wasn’t about to keel over from fright. His voice came out as a vicious growl. “Really? And would any of those important things involve contacting your brother?”

Danni’s eyes widened against her will, and she felt like she was about to pass out. She choked on her words as they came out of her mouth. “What… what are you talking about?”

Crouch frowned, and Danni gulped. “Do you really think that I’m stupid? When I mentioned that you shouldn’t know anything about the plan, you agreed, even though I know for a fact that Jacob is a very key element in this all. Also, I couldn’t help hearing through the grapevine that the Cobb’s only son returned from wherever he’s been staying to be with them for a while. I’m honestly surprised that they even allowed it.”

Danni’s shoulders slumped down, and she sighed. “Fine, you know everything. I never swapped places with my brother. But it’s not because I’m trying to hinder your plan or anything. It’s because…” Danni’s mind was running through all the possibilities of what she could say that wouldn’t end with her lying in a shallow grave. “...I need more time to find the truth.”

Crouch frowned. “Truth about what?”

Danni took a deep breath. “I’ve recently been made aware that… that it’s possible that my parents… aren’t really my parents. That maybe my birth mother is actually my aunt, Judy. I don’t know if I’d be able to stay with her, knowing what I know now.”

Crouch’s mouth still looked caught in a snarl, but then he made a strange barking sound that Danni recognized as a laugh. “You…” He squeaked as another laugh got caught in his throat. “You have to…”

Danni frowned. Now that she knew that Crouch knew the truth, her actions now wouldn’t be putting any blame on her brother’s shoulders. She whipped out her wand and mumbled petrificus totalus. Crouch hadn’t been expecting the sudden attack from someone that he considered to be at least neutral, if not an ally.

The frozen man fell over, and Danni plucked his wand out of his hand. If he had been one second faster, he would have been able to attack Danni. She didn’t want him going around on a killing spree when he woke up, so she slipped the wand into her pocket. It had belonged to the real Mad-Eye Moody, and had most likely been won in combat so it would work fully for Crouch. 

Danni then turned and ran as fast as she could towards the gates that would lead to her freedom. It wasn’t going to be much further, and she was sure that she could make it. 

Danni was clutching her wand tightly in case she needed to deal with any more obstacles, even though it was rather painful to do so.

She broke the lock on the gates, and sprinted away, hoping that there would be some form of transportation waiting for her along the way, because having to run all the way to the ministry wasn’t a very practical plan, especially when she wasn’t fully functional…

As she ran, Danni began to experience the nausea and dizziness that she had thought herself to be exempt from after experiencing no symptoms all the way through the castle. She soon found herself gasping for breath, much quicker than she had been able to go in the past, probably caused by the lack of air she was getting.

Danni slowed to a walk, and tried to go as fast as she could. She probably should have brought a water bottle or something with her, or at least an empty cup that she could fill with water. Today was going to suck even worse than it had so far, but Danni was determined to get Harry out of the tournament. Unfortunately, she just passed out right there, on the dirt road leading to the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering the fact that I started writing this for a friend who wanted to be in the world of Harry Potter (who's even named Danni irl) I certainly do injure the poor girl a lot. It's probably a good thing that my friend hasn't checked up on this story in years, or else she might be a bit upset with me haha


	34. Harry

Harry was lost in thought, and it wasn’t until another student brushed past him, without apologizing, that he realized he had wandered outside at some point. He wasn’t really sure what to do now, since there wasn’t exactly a manual explaining the step-by-step on surviving a wizard tournament that you were only entered in by an evil imposter, while worrying about your close friend who can read minds and is currently injured badly. He would have to write something like that when this was all over, to save anyone else in this situation all of the trouble he was going through.

Harry looked around, a mild expression of surprise on his face when he realized that he had wandered so far away from the castle. But he was still on school grounds, so it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. And it wasn’t even past curfew, even if it did look like it was starting to get dark soon.

The young wizard’s eyes were drawn over to the large gate for some reason, and he frowned. There was a strange feeling in his stomach, and what felt like someone shouting for help. He glanced around, but the few others who were out were too far away, and they clearly hadn’t heard the shouts. 

He ran forward and found that the gate was open a little bit, just enough for a skinny person to slip through. He felt a moment of fear, because he knew that any number of dangerous being could be lurking just outside the Hogwarts grounds, just trying to lure him out. But then he heard the plea for help again, and it sounded far too distressed to be fake, as far as he was concerned.

Harry slipped through the opening, and immediately saw Danni lying on the road. He could still hear the shouts, even though she seemed to be completely unconscious. He knelt down next to her, and gently tapped her shoulder. He confirmed her state of unconsciousness when he heard more shouts, but her mouth wasn’t moving at all, and she looked pretty pale.

Harry pulled out his wand, and muttered _wingardium leviosa_ and directed Danni’s unmoving body into the air. The shouts got louder, and Harry wasn’t sure exactly what he was hearing, but he knew that it had something to do with Danni’s telepathy. Maybe since she could read minds, she also had the ability to direct her thoughts into other minds? It wasn’t that important, though, he could always find out later.

And when she woke up, Harry would have a million questions. Why had she left the infirmary, knowing that she still had open wounds, and that the synthetic blood wouldn’t be as effective as her real blood? It seemed like an awfully dumb thing to do.

As he carefully guided Danni’s floating body back to the castle, he heard a sleepy grunt, and this time it was out loud, not in his head. Danni sighed, and twisted around to see her surroundings, though her mobility was limited by her weak state and the spell that Harry was using.

She sighed. “What are you doing?”

Harry shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious, I think. I’m bringing you back to the school. You passed out, probably from over exertion, and I find that sleeping on a dirt road isn’t very pleasant on the back.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “Well, now that I’m awake, I think that I can walk on my own. Why don’t you just put me down?”

Harry shook his head. “I have a very strong feeling that if I put you down, you would run away, back to whatever you were running towards before, and you’ll pass out again, and be even worse off.”

Danni spoke in a soft voice. “What I was running towards? How do you know that I wasn’t just running away from something?”

Harry shook his head resolutely. “You may be the one who can read minds, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely clueless. You were definitely heading somewhere with purpose. Where though? Why would you be running away from Hogwarts? What could be more important than your education and your health?”

Danni shifted uncomfortably, and stretched out a little. It reminded Harry of a cat stretching out after a nice long nap in the sun. But Danni didn’t really look content the way a cat would after waking up. Her face was twisted in a grimace, and she was so pale. “Hey, you don’t have to act like you’re so worried about me, you know.”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe it’s not an act. You’re one of the few genuine people I know, and I like that about you. And when you went down back at the infirmary… well, I’m sure you know exactly what I was thinking.” Harry almost expected a guilty look to appear on Danni’s face, but instead she looked offended.

“I’m not going to go around reading your mind every five seconds just because I called off our deals. That would be immoral, and besides, I honestly don’t want to know what goes on in your head most of the time. I have a feeling that it would probably make me want to run away.” She sighed. “Listen, I just-”

“Do it.” Harry interrupted. “Read my mind. You clearly don’t understand why I’m bringing you back, and I think that you’ll keep trying to head off on whatever stupid mission you’ve given yourself unless you fully understand.”

Danni’s furrowed her eyebrows, then gave a slight nod. She closed her eyes, but Harry could still see the steady rising and falling of her chest, and it hadn’t changed pace, so he knew that she was still conscious. It was interesting because it didn’t seem like she actually needed to close her eyes to read minds, but she did it a lot anyways. Maybe she just didn’t want to see someone’s expression while she did what she considered to be a violation of their brains.

There was a frown slashed across her face, though Harry watched as it slowly stretched out into a soft smile. She opened her eyes again. “I didn’t realize that you were so worried.” She hesitated for a moment, then continued. “While I was… you know… I met someone. I mean, I have no idea whether it was real or all in my head, but he said some… things. I just thought you should know something. I uh, he was uh… well, nevermind.”

Harry wondered what she could have seen while she was technically dead, but he didn’t want to press her further. It was already an awkward topic to bring up. “So? Are you going to tell me where you were planning on going before you passed out?”

Danni sighed. She looked like she was going to say no, but she looked so tired, and she clearly didn’t even have the energy to argue with him anymore. “I was going to the Ministry of Magic.”

Harry frowned. “Why? What’s at the Ministry?”

Danni glanced at Harry, but immediately averted her eyes when she saw that he was looking at her first. “I was going to tell them… or show them… whichever would get them to believe me. I need them to know what I saw from the Goblet, so they know you didn’t volunteer, and they’ll be able to use their authority to take you out of the tournament.”

Harry shook his head. “Danni, I can handle this tournament. I’m not going to win, but I’m not going to be any worse for wear afterwards.”

Danni huffed. “Yeah, right. A known Death Eater manipulates an impartial judge to enter you in the tournament, and you don’t think that you’re going to be harmed by this at all? You’re even more stupid than I thought.”

Harry growled. “Hey, I’m not the one who jammed my hands onto a metal cup in order to read it’s thoughts. Because I have to say, that was not a very smart thing of you to do.”

Danni sighed, and rolled her eyes. “Harry. The point is that you need to be taken out of the tournament. It’s not that I doubt your ability to succeed if you had entered and been chosen like anyone else, but that point’s null when there’s you-know-who involved.”

Harry shot her a look. “You don’t know that he’s involved.”

Danni closed her eyes again, clearly exhausted. “Fine, Harry. You can compete. Just don’t say that I never did anything for you.”


	35. Danni

Danni rolled her eyes at Madame Pomfrey. The woman seemed to have a condition that made it impossible for her to not lecture students the second she thought that they did something wrong. The nurse huffed with indignation. “Now don’t you go rolling your eyes at me, young lady. I’m not the one who was stupid enough to try and sneak out while being seriously injured.”

Danni sighed. “Does it make you feel any better if I tell you that I had really good reasons for trying to sneak out while being seriously injured?”

Madame Pomfrey frowned. “That would depend on the nature of your excuse. But what could be so important that it’s worth risking your health? You could have bled to death out there if Mr. Potter hadn’t stumbled upon you, and then you would be dead right now.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “I asked if you would feel better if I had a good reason. I didn’t say that I would tell you that good reason. It’s supposed to be a secret.”

The woman sighed. “I’m calling up Professors Snape, Moody, and Dumbledore. Don’t even bother wasting your breath arguing.”

Danni frowned. “But won’t they be in the middle of teaching classes, or something?”

The nurse ignored Danni, and hurried to her office to send messages out to those three men. Danni laughed weakly. “Well, I think that all in all, that could have gone better. Lucky me, I’m not going to try any more dumb escape attempts, since one Harry Potter has discouraged my help in saving his arse.”

Harry frowned. “I feel like you’re the only one here who refuses to see how serious this all is. If your hands never stop bleeding you’ll die. No matter what they can do, no matter what magic can do, there’s no way to stop a person from bleeding to death through an open injury. How do you not realize that?”

Danni bit her lip. “Harry, of course I know how serious this all is. But if I let myself think about that for even a moment, then I won’t be able to stop. I’ll end up wasting the rest of my time dwelling on the end, and that’s not how I want to go.”

Harry reached out and gently placed his hand on her arm. “You’re not going anywhere. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Danni shook her head. “I’m afraid that that’s a promise you won’t be able to keep. Take it back now before you regret it later.”

Before Harry could respond, a greasy voice interrupted their conversation, and Harry immediately recognized the potions professor’s voice. “She’s right, you know. You shouldn’t make promises that you can’t keep.”

Harry snorted. “What do you know about keeping promises?”

Snape sighed. “Talking back to a teacher, and with such attitude. Ten points from Gryffindor.”

Harry balled his hands by his sides, but he was smart enough to not say anything else. Snape found enough excuses to deduct points from Gryffindor even without being given a good reason, so Harry wasn’t going to give him a good reason to take away even more, as unfair as the whole situation was. 

Snape frowned at Danni, who winced, expecting a verbal attack from the man with the hooked nose. Instead, he muttered to himself, “We’ll have to find a stronger solution if you’re going to insist on getting up and walking away. Where were you headed, anyways?”

Danni shrugged. “Nowhere in particular. I just felt like getting a breath of fresh air. It’s rather stuffy in this infirmary, and I was getting bored.”

Snape scoffed. “You’re lying there dying, with the potential to bleed out at the slightest provocation, and you’re bored?”

Danni smiled tightly. “What can I say? I’m the type of person who thrives on adventure. An adrenaline junkie is what the muggles call it, right?”

Both Harry and Danni looked over at the door as Moody and Dumbledore strolled in, Dumbledore just ahead of his coworker. The headmaster made a sound in the back of his throat, and it was one of curiosity. “Whatever did possess you to get up and leave in your condition?”

Snape shook his head. “She says that she needed a breath of fresh air, and decided to take a little unsupervised walk, without permission.”

Danni crossed her arms over her chest. “Who says I didn’t have any supervision? Harry was there, wasn’t he?”

Moody chuckled. “And lucky for you he happened to be there to take you back to the infirmary.”

Danni pouted. “Yeah, I’m feeling real lucky right now.”

Dumbledore turned to Harry. “Harry my boy, I think that it would be best if you were to return to your dorm at this time. We need plenty of space to work here.”

Both students knew that that was code for Harry to get out because Danni was about to get lectured and patched up, and Harry would really only get in the way. Danni watched as Harry nodded and left. She felt a little sad, because she was now left to face the intimidating adults on her own.

Danni gulped. “So… I’m not going to be in too much trouble, am I?”

Dumbledore sighed. “Well, the only person you endangered in this whole endeavor was yourself. And that means that you hurt a Ravenclaw, and injuring any student from any house is sabotage and against many rules, whether you meant to or not. So…”

Snape glared. “Can we talk about all of this later? You know, after we’ve ensured her survival? I’m not going to be the one who has to tell her family that we let a student die on our watch.”

Moody sighed when he noticed Danni wince back at those words. “Are those really things that are necessary to be saying in front of the girl herself?”

Danni frowned. Crouch shouldn’t be taking her side or trying to defend her in any way. She had attacked him, and he could easily get her expelled for attacking a teacher. So why was he being so nice? 

He turned and gave Danni a quick wink with his good eye before anyone else could even notice. He leaned over, and placed a hand on her shoulder, in what was seen as a comforting gesture. He was actually casually reaching into Danni’s pocket to pull out his wand.

Danni sighed. She was still feeling dizzy and a wave of nausea went through her. “Whatever you guys are going to do, can you do it soon? I’m not feeling so hot over here.” Whatever happened next, Danni was just going to have to live with as the consequences of her actions.


	36. Harry

Harry glanced back once he got to the infirmary doors. Danni didn’t seem too bad off, considering the fact that she was so scarily close to an actual death eater. Harry sighed, and began hurrying through the hallways to get back to his dorms. He wanted to talk to Hermione. Maybe not about everything, but at least about enough so she would understand how he was feeling.

When he got to the common room, it was empty of everyone except Neville, who was sitting in the armchair next to the fireplace. He glanced up when he heard Harry walk in. “Harry! I’m so glad that you’re back. We haven’t seen you around in a while, and we were all starting to get worried.”

Harry laughed. “There’s no need to worry about me, Neville. I can take care of myself.”

The boy shrugged. “We were worried, that’s all. Where have you been?”

Harry sighed. “With a friend. She’s pretty seriously injured, so I’ve been around the infirmary a lot, recently, to visit her. I know how lonely it can get down there, when you’re the only one.”

Neville’s face filled with concern again. “Who is it? What happened? Is she going to be okay?”

Harry smiled. “Her name is Danni. She’s in Ravenclaw, but she’s in our year, so you might know her. She burned her hands, but it’s pretty bad.” His voice came out a little softer, like whispering would prevent the worst from happening. “I’m not sure whether she’ll be okay or not. Dumbledore, Snape, and Moody are all down there, trying to do their best to keep her going. She’s already slipped away once, though they did manage to bring her back.” Harry rubbed his hands over his eyes, and let his voice returned to normal volume. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have tried to plague you with all of that. It’s nothing.” Harry glanced around the common room again, as if his peers were hiding from him, and were now ready to pop out. No one popped out. “Where is everyone, anyways?”

Neville frowned. “I think they said something about a mock quidditch match out by the gardens, since the pitch is off limits for the year. I tried to tell them not to go, but they didn’t seem interested in listening to me. But you should, Harry, because if you end up getting involved in a rivalry that ends up turning into a fight, you could be kicked out of the tournament.”

Harry couldn’t help the look of surprise that passed over his face. “Why would you care if I get kicked out? Don’t you just think I cheated my way in, or something?”

The other boy shook his head. “Of course not, Harry. I believe in you, so if you say that it wasn’t you, then it wasn’t you. If Ron can’t see that, well… The point is, you didn’t put your name in. Which brings us to the question of who did?”

Harry felt the words building up in his mouth. It would be so easy to have someone else to confide in, somebody who wasn’t a corrupt old man or an idiot girl lacking common sense. He would finally have someone else looking out for him when he interacted with the fake Moody, and everything would be so nice.

But Harry couldn’t do that. He would be forcing Neville to be constantly paranoid, looking over his shoulder, trying not to slip up around the imposter. And in order to explain everything properly, he would have to give away Danni’s secret. They may not have their deal in effect anymore, but Harry liked to think that they were friends now, and that he should be able to keep his friends secrets. 

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. It would be nice to catch whoever did do it, though, right?”

Neville nodded. “Of course, Harry.” He smiled. “If you want to avoid any trouble at the match, then you could come with me to the greenhouse. I’m supposed to meet Luna there.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “Luna? I don’t think I know anyone named Luna.”

Neville nodded patiently. “She’s more commonly referred to as Looney Lovegood.” Harry nodded as he recalled hearing that name around the school a few times. “She’s in Ravenclaw, and she’s in the year beneath ours.”

Harry smiled. “So what are you meeting up with this Luna Lovegood in the greenhouse for?”

Neville laughed. “Well, it turns out that one of the few things I’m actually good at is herbology, and Luna is falling a little bit behind in her class. I volunteered to tutor her until she’s caught up.”

Harry raised one eyebrow. “And what role, exactly, would I be playing in this situation? My herbology skills are mediocre, at best, and I’ve never taught anyone anything before.”

Neville shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess I figured that you could meet Luna, who’s definitely worth meeting, and maybe you could hang out and learn a little bit. Who knows, it could be fun. Or you could stay here all by yourself, and mope, or do boring homework, or whatever else it is that you do up here.”

Harry tilted his head for a moment to think. “Neville, are there any plants that are good for healing burns?”

Neville grinned. “I’m sure that we’ll be able to find something for your friend. I may need more specifics, though. If Madame Pomfrey wasn’t able to heal her right away, then it must have been some kind of spell that went wrong and injured her.”

Harry sighed. “Not exactly. It’s… I’m not sure that I can really tell you without betraying Danni’s trust, and that’s the one thing that I can’t do. Not after I just seemed to have earned it back.”

Neville shrugged. “Well, there are aloes and such that are good for most burns, so they should work for your friend, at least to ease the symptoms a little bit.” He laughed. “No offense, but I honestly never thought that I would live to see the day that Harry Potter gets so concerned about someone.”

Harry scoffed. “I’m not that concerned…”

Neville stood up, and playfully punched him in the shoulder. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Harry. Even you deserve a friend to worry about. Lord knows that your friends worry about you often enough.” He grabbed the book that he had set down, and gestured for Harry to follow him. “Come on, let’s go.”

Harry nodded, and followed closely behind Neville. “I’m going out of my mind with excitement.” 

Neville smiled. “Well hurry up, then!” And he picked up his pace. Harry followed, an amused expression on his face.


	37. Danni

Everything was fuzzy for a few minutes, and then Danni’s vision cleared up. She looked around, and saw that Snape and Crouch had already left, leaving behind just Dumbledore, who was sitting in the visitor’s chair next to the bed.

He smiled when he saw that Danni was sitting up. “Ah, Danni. It’s wonderful to see you awake. You had us worried there for a moment. Again.”

Danni sighed. “Crouch… I had his wand, but he took it back. And he’s probably going to be pissed that I managed to stun him and take his wand in the first place.”

Dumbledore tilted his head. “You stunned him, and then disarmed him?”

Danni shrugged. “I mean, yeah, I guess. Why?”

Dumbledore stroked his long white beard. “Well, I think that that could qualify as you winning the wand. Since he didn’t win it back, the wand will answer to you as a master. It won’t be as effective anymore.”

The girl gulped. “Oh, well, in that case, I’m sure that everything will be just peachy. He can still use the wand though, and it will still seem as effective as normal, right?”

The headmaster shrugged apologetically. “We’ll have to look further into this matter later. For now, it’s important that you get lots of rest while you’re healing, and I have other important matters that I must attend to.”

Danni perked up. “Healing? Does that mean that I’m actually going to be okay? That my skin will grow back and I’ll be able to use my hands without bleeding to death?”

Dumbledore smiled sadly. “I’m afraid that that is not yet the case. I can assure you, all of the professors are looking into this matter, trying to do everything that they can to find a cure for you, without even knowing the full details of your situation. But for now, I simply meant that you will most likely heal best if you are well rested.”

Danni nodded glumly. “I understand.”

The old wizard stood up, and started walking to the door. He stopped halfway there, and turned back to peer at Danni. “And I would strongly advise against getting up to wander around some more. If it happens again, I’ll have no choice but to take away house points from Ravenclaw for sabotage against a student.”

Danni rolled her eyes at that. “Fine, I promise to stay in bed and wait for Crouch to come back and kill me. Don’t worry about me, though. I’m sure that everything will be fine here.”

Dumbledore smiled softly, and left the infirmary. Danni sighed, and looked around the room. It was empty, apparently all of those explosion victims had been deemed fit to return to their own dormitories. Danni wished that she had that luxury. The infirmary was rather boring, with nothing to do, and no one to talk to.

And Danni wasn’t tired, so she wouldn’t be able to take a nap right now. She closed her eyes, and decided to try and listen in on everything that she could. It certainly wasn’t ethical to do that, and if her mental barriers slipped for even a second, if there were too many minds at once she would have a splitting headache for the next several days. But there was literally nothing else to do to occupy her time.

So Danni’s mind reached out, to try and catch a hold of the minds around her. There was one walking right past the infirmary right now. Danni listened closely. _“Oh my god. I can’t believe that he actually asked me out. I mean, everyone said that he had a thing for me, but I never actually expected to be asked out. I can’t wait to go on our first date together. This is is epic!”_

Danni smiled to herself. It was always uplifting to overhear people when their thoughts were at their happiest. She decided to try and stay with the unknown person, just to see how far her mind could stretch before it would be snapped back into her own head.

_“Alright, I’ve spent as long as possible in the restrooms, and if I don’t return to class soon, McGonagall will have my head. She’s probably the strictest teacher we have. Actually, that might be tied with Snape. But he’s more of a dick than he is strict. I’m just glad that I’m in Slytherin, otherwise I would probably get on Snape’s bad side way too often. I already have McGonagall on my case, though personally, I think that she’s just prejudiced against all Slytherins.”_

Danni frowned. If this girl was going to Transfiguration, then she wasn’t really going very far away from the infirmary. Maybe there was someone else around who would be going further away.

There was a sudden burst of multiple voices, about thirty in total, and half of them seemed happy, while the other half seemed very annoyed. They all had the common thought of quidditch buzzing through their heads. One mind sounded especially smug. _“Take that, you idiot Gryffindors. Without your precious Potter, your team is garbage, and you will lose every time. Maybe now I’ll finally get some of the respect around here that I deserve.”_

Danni decided to move on from that guy’s head. She wondered how they had gotten away with playing quidditch out there, even though the pitch was off limits and there were no games or practices scheduled for the entire year.

There was a more familiar mind among the rest, and Danni listened closer. Inner voices were as unique as outer voices, and she recognized the nasly quality of Ronald Weasley’s mind. He sounded very resentful. _“Come on Harry, I thought you were supposed to be my friend. First, you find a way to slip your name into the goblet without even telling me, and then you abandon me to get my arse beat by Malfoy. What happened to us sticking together and watching out for each other?”_

After another minute, the large group divided into two smaller ones, and all of the students began to head back to their respective dorms. Danni wanted to hear what Hermione thought about this whole quidditch thing, since she seemed to be the more logical and accepting of the two friends. But she felt curious, about Malfoy and his malicious thoughts, and she wanted to know that he wasn’t going to do anything mean or humiliating to Harry.

So Danni made the split second decision to follow both voices. She had listened in on more than one mind at a time before, but they had always been in the same room at least. Hermione was heading up the stairs, to the seventh floor, while Malfoy was going down into the basement.

Danni was determined to hold on to both thoughts. She could feel her face going red from the effort, and it was tough. But there was nothing else that Danni had going on, so she persevered. Hermione’s voice began to grow fainter, but still audible. _“These guys are being so ridiculous. Not everything in the world has to be a prick measuring contest. I’m just glad that Harry was smart enough to not get involved, though he’s certain to get an earful from Ron later.”_

Meanwhile, Malfoy’s voice was also getting softer, but not nearly as quiet as the Gryffindor’s. _“Everyone will know that Slytherin is the best now. This is just what I wanted, right?”_

Danni’s mind was wide open, so that she could hear the two clashing voices as loudly as possible. So when a gaggle of new minds entered the equation, it was like getting a bad sunburn on top of a bad sunburn. Danni’s mind snapped out of the two heads she had been focused on, but it was already too late. It had been too much, and with all that energy exertion, Danni passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that Danni passes out a lot and is often seen as the damsel in distress type, but she’s getting stronger, and will soon be able to take care of herself, I promise.


	38. Harry

Harry peered past Neville as they entered the greenhouse. He couldn’t recall ever coming out here before for anything other than classes. At the back, standing next to a long wooden table, was a girl with long blonde hair, and the blue trimmed robes of Ravenclaw. She looked up at the two newcomers with a welcoming grin, and spoke in a soft, dreamy voice. “Neville, I’m glad you finally made it. I was starting to get worried that the Sparwonks had gotten to you.”

The Gryffindor laughed. “Don’t worry, Luna, I wouldn’t just leave you to learn herbology on your own.”

The younger girl’s gaze shifted and landed on Harry. “Ah, Harry Potter himself, what a wonderful surprise.” She laughed. “Well, it looks like our savior has found a special someone.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Wha… what are you talking about?”

Luna smiled. “I can see all of the Heptres flying around your chest. They’re attracted to the hormones produced by feelings of love and strong affection.”

Harry laughed. “Oh, for a moment there, I thought you were being serious.”

Luna tilted her head. “But I am being serious, Harry.”

Neville leaned over to speak to Harry in a whispered voice. “I’ve learned that it’s best to just go along with whatever she says. Besides, some of it is quite fascinating.” Then he turned to Luna, and spoke in a normal voice again. “Well, we aren’t here to talk about Heptres. So why don’t we get on with this lesson…”

Harry and Neville could both see that Luna was no longer paying attention to Neville. Her gaze was somewhere outside the greenhouse, and the two boys turned to see what had caught the Ravenclaw’s attention. 

Outside, there was a group of Slytherins, who were all obviously laughing. One of them held up the button in his hand, and Harry got a good look at it. In bright green, it said _Potter Stinks_. Harry frowned. Neville caught sight of the badges as well, and he sighed. “Harry, I don’t think that people are really going to get over the fact that you’re in the tournament. I’m sorry. But don’t give them the satisfaction of reacting. I know it’s probably asking the impossible, but just stay out of trouble.”

Harry smiled. “You’ve always looked out for me, Neville. Thanks.”

Neville nodded, looking relieved that Harry was planning on storming out there and getting into a fight. Luna smiled. “So how about that lesson now?”

* * *

Neville nodded encouragingly at Harry. “I’m sure that Danni will be happy to have a visitor, and this aloe stuff should really help relieve the pain, even if it doesn’t do much to actually heal the burn.”

They entered the infirmary, and walked over to the only occupied bed. Danni’s eyes were closed, but they were visibly fluttering around, like she was very interested in studying the backs of her eyelids. Harry didn’t want to disturb her, so he placed the small jar on the nightstand, and scrambled to get a piece of parchment out of his bag, along with a quill and some ink. He would just write Danni a quick note, so she would know what to do with the thick green lotion.

But before he had a chance to write anything, Danni’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times in what seemed to be confusion, then she threw back her covers, and sat up. Harry moved forward. “Hey, easy there. You shouldn’t be trying to move too much…” He trailed off when Danni held up his hands. He grabbed them, gently, to make sure that it wasn’t an illusion, but there was no reaction, and her hands felt perfectly smooth, on both sides. “What…? How…?”

Danni shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. I was just laying here, bored, and with no other form of entertainment, I just wanted to see how good my range is. So I listened in on a few minds-”

Neville took the opportunity to interrupt. “I’m sorry, did you say listen in on minds? As in, mind-reading? Because that’s not possible.”

Danni’s eyes widened in shock, making is clear that she hadn’t been aware of Neville’s presence before she had started speaking. “I, uh… I didn’t mean it like mind reading… just uh…” She looked up at Harry, and was looking for something. He hoped that she wasn’t reading his mind, but he couldn’t really blame her if she was. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. “Ah bloody hell. Yeah, I can read minds, whether you think it’s impossible or not.”

Neville looked at Harry, confusion written on his face, and Harry nodded. “It’s true. She really can read minds. The burns on her hands… those were obtained when she, rather stupidly, tried to read the mind of the goblet to find out who put my name in.”

Neville nodded, his face blank, but he seemed to be taking it all rather well. “Did you? Find out who put your name into the goblet, that is?”

Danni nodded. “It was a death eater name Barty Crouch Jr, and he’s currently taking a polyjuice potion to make him look like Professor Moody. It’s not a very pleasant situation.”

Neville sighed. “Well, I guess sometimes normal is just too much to ask for. It’s not like there’s already a whole bunch of other stuff going on. But you can read minds? That’s so cool. How long have you been able to do that?”

Danni shrugged. “As far as I know, since I was born. You’re now one of the handful of people who know my secret, also including Harry, Dumbledore, and my parents.” She sighed. “I don’t even know if I should still call them that. I mean, yeah, they raised me and all, but I know now that they’re not my real parents.”

Neville offered a sympathetic smile. “I think that if they raised you right, then they can still be your parents.”

Danni smiled. “Thanks.” Then she swung her legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. “Well, I just need to find Madame Pomfrey and get her to sign me out. I don’t want Dumbledore taking away any house points because of me.”

Harry raised one eyebrow. “Why would he take away house points?”

Danni rolled her eyes. “He said that if I got out of bed again, I would be endangering a student, which is against the rules even if it’s myself, apparently. And I don’t want to risk it, so I need Madame Pomfrey to officially release me.”

Harry nodded. “Well, me and Neville need to get to the Great Hall for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow though.”

Danni nodded, and watched the two boys leave the infirmary. Once they were just out of earshot, she shook her head sadly. “Good luck,” she whispered.


	39. Danni

Danni shrugged. “I have no idea what happened. All I know is that one minute I was lying there with injuries severe enough that I could potentially bleed to death through my hands, and the next minute, I’m perfectly fine. And since I’ve made a full recovery, that means that I can return to my normal schedule, right?”

Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore exchanged a glance. Finally, Dumbledore sighed. “I would suggest that you stay the night for observations and such, but I have the feeling that you wouldn’t go for that.” He shook his head. “You’re free to go, but stop by the infirmary tomorrow to make sure that everything’s working the way it should, and once you’re done here, find me in my office. The password is honeysticks.”

Danni nodded gratefully. “Thank you so much, sir, for everything that you’ve done for me. And I’ll be sure to thank Professors Snape and Moody as well.” She bowed her head, then turned to hurry off. It was too late to get to the Great Hall in time for dinner, so she began making her way back to the Ravenclaw dorms instead.

She answered the riddle to get into the common room, and then made her way to her dorm room from there. She changed into her pajamas, and let all of the other girls shout about how excited they were that she was out of the infirmary, where they never had time to visit. Too much studying to do, apparently. 

After a bit, the lights went out, and the girls all climbed into their beds. Danni smiled to herself. It was nice to know that she had friends that cared about her, even if they didn’t really know the real her. Then she held her hands just above her face, even though it was too dark to see them, and she shivered. She was never going to try and read the mind of an inanimate magical object again, she had learned her lesson.

Danni closed her eyes, but she didn’t feel very tired anymore. She wanted to go running around outside or something. She stared up at the dark velvety covering of her bed, and sighed. Danni was just starting to relax, and close her eyes again, when she felt a hand clamped over her mouth, followed by a harsh whisper right next to her ear. “Say anything and you’re dead.”

The stranger with the unfamiliar voice scooped Danni up, and tossed her over his shoulder like she didn’t weigh anymore than a bunch of grapes. There was the uncomfortable tip of a wand poking into her side, and she didn’t want to risk being killed, so she stayed silent. 

The stranger carried Danni out into the common room, where he adjusted her on his shoulder, then stepped over to the fireplace. Danni watched with wide eyes. The stranger pulled out a small drawstring bag of green powder. He pulled out a handful, and tossed it into the small fire, and a blast of green flames shot out. 

He jumped into the fire, and Danni didn’t even get the chance to hear the name of their location. She looked around frantically, but the world seemed to be spinning all over. When the spinning finally stopped, Danni blinked and looked around. They seemed to be in a small hut.

The stranger dropped her to the ground, and left without a word. Danni sat there for a moment before coming to her senses and sitting up. A moment later, a familiar friendly face entered the tent with a wide grin. “Danni. How’s my favorite niece?”

Danni frowned. “Aunt Judy? What am I doing here?”

The woman shrugged. “It was starting to get too dangerous around the school. I know that you were really hoping to stay behind, but that’s no longer a risk that I’m willing to take with you. I’m sorry.”

Danni scowled. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” She scrambled to her feet. “Where’s Jacob?”

Judy sighed. “He’s in his tent. You can visit with him later.” The woman lowered her voice. “Your brother explained to me everything that happened, after I broke that tricky little spell of his. He said that you wanted to stay behind because you’d grown… feelings… for Potter. Is that true?”

Danni sighed. “Yes, it’s true. I just didn’t want to see him get hurt.”

Judy grinned. “Well that’s perfect then, because you’re no longer in any position to see your little boy toy get hurt.”

Danni crossed her arms over her chest. “Why are you doing this?”

Judy shrugged. “You’re my niece, I love you. Of course I would want to protect you from all of the really bad things that are going to be going down at Hogwarts soon.”

Danni blinked a few times, and her gaze hardened. “You love me because I’m your niece? Or because I’m your daughter?”

Judy furrowed her eyebrows. “What are you-”

Danni sighed. “Don’t bother trying to lie to me. I talked to my father, David, and he told me that you’re my real mother.”

Judy’s eyes widened. “But that’s impossible. David…”

“Died? Because you tortured him to death?” Judy’s eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to say something, but Danni wasn’t done yet. “And why did you tell David that your sister is a muggle when she’s actually a witch? That seems like a pretty useless lie to me.”

Judy shook her head, and sighed. She sat down on the side of the cot, and gestured for Danni to do the same. “It’s kind of a long story. One that isn’t about you, or even me, at all.”

Danni frowned, and decided to sit, though she sat as far away from her ‘aunt’ as possible. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”

Judy pulled out her wand. “Why don’t I just show you, instead?” Danni nodded her consent, and the woman tapped the side of her head, pulling out a long silvery strand. She dropped the strand into the small pot in front of them, and gestured for Danni to take a peek. The teen leaned forward, and pressed her face against the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm starting to understand why I had so many people getting frustrated about the short chapter lengths I used to go by. I'm not sure if it's just laziness on my part, or if I was trying to figure out the easiest way to work on multiple stories at once, but it's definitely strange to see these short little bits when I look back on older works lol


	40. Judy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, but this chapter is a bit (a lot) longer than my normal chapter lengths, and I can only hope that it answers more questions than it creates, but if there’s still any confusion, feel free to leave your question, and I will attempt to answer it. Just keep in mind that this was written three years ago though, so it's possible that your questions could already be answered further into the story, if that makes any sense.

_Judy pulled her coat tighter around her. It was freezing out, and it didn’t make any sense for her to stick around. But there was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, like this was exactly where she was supposed to be. She shivered, but didn’t move._

_There was the sound of a loud crash coming from the alley behind the shop, and Judy reached into her pocket to gently touch her wand. Reassured of its presence, Judy stayed where she was, not wanting to get involved in whatever conflict was happening back there._

_There was the sound of pounding footsteps, and Judy looked over at the gasping man. He didn’t look particularly exceptional, and Judy turned to ignore him. He stumbled to the ground, clutching something tightly in his hands. He looked up at Judy, who was the only person on the street. He slowly reached up. “Please… help me…”_

_Judy raised one eyebrow with interest when she saw the small milky white sphere. She tilted her head. “Who are you? Where did you get that?”_

_The man sighed, a small trail of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. “It’s not mine… I don’t know what it is… but I know that I need to protect it.”_

_Judy sighed. She reached down to pull the man to his feet, and she grabbed the small globe from him, slipping it into her empty pocket. “Well, come on, then.”_

_The man shook his head. “It’s too late. Protect that thing until it gets to the right person. Leave me, I’ll keep them off your back.”_

_Judy rolled her eyes. “So you’re one of those ones, then.” She clutched the man’s arm tightly. “So? What’s your name?”_

_He furrowed his eyebrows. “Uh… David.”_

_Judy nodded. “Well, David, prepare for the worst ride of your life.” And the whole world went black, and Judy’s insides felt like they were being twisted inside out, but it was too familiar of a feeling to bother her._

_David wasn’t so lucky, though. As soon as the world stopped spinning, he collapsed to his knees and puked his guts out. Once he was done vomiting, David keeled over, his head hitting the hardwood floor. Judy flicked her wrist, and the mess was gone. Then she levitated David into her bed, and pulled out her first aid kit._

_He woke up a few hours later, and looked around in confusion. “Where are we? How did we get here?”_

_Judy looked at him seriously. “What’s the last thing you remember?”_

_David blinked a few times as he waited for the memories to return to him. “I was being chased, and then I saw you, and I handed you that ball.” He bolted up. “Where is that thing? I need to keep it safe.”_

_Judy chuckled. “Trust me, it’s somewhere safe.”_

_David frowned. “Why should I trust you?”_

_Judy shrugged. “What other choice do you have?”_

_* * *_

_The scene changed. Judy’s hair was longer, and David’s face was no longer covered in bruises and scars. They were both laughing as they lay cuddled together on the couch. After a few minutes, Judy turned around so she was leaning her forehead against David’s. She sighed. “I love you.”_

_David grinned. “Well, that works out perfectly, because I love you too.” Judy’s eyes widened, especially when David leaned forward to press their lips together. “Stop thinking, for once. Whatever it is that you’ve never told me… I’m not going to care. I’m never going to stop loving you.”_

_Judy bit her lip indecisively, then nodded. She pulled David forward to kiss her again, a small grin on her face._

_* * *_

_Judy slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. She glanced over at David, then down at the thing in her lap. She cleared her throat and started to say something, but then was silent. David knew better than to push her, so he just waited. A few minutes later, Judy cleared her throat, and held up the thing she was holding. David’s eyes widened at the little pink plus sign. “I’m pregnant.”_

_David stood up, and Judy looked away, sure that the muggle was just going to leave. She was surprised to feel his arms wrap around her in a hug. “Hey, do you want this?”_

_Judy hesitated, then gave a shallow nod. She swallowed thickly. “I don’t think I’d be able to get rid of it now.”_

_David kissed her forehead. “Then we won’t.”_

_* * *_

_Judy cradled the small bundle against her chest, protecting the small person from the world. Judy wondered for a moment whether or not their child would be a witch, but then she shrugged it aside. Her and David would both love this baby no matter what. She pressed a gentle kiss to the tiny bald head. “Welcome home, Erika.”_

_David smiled as he stepped into the apartment, and closed the door behind him. He pulled Judy into a hug, and kissed the back of her neck. “Well, what do you think of the place, Erika?”_

_The little girl blinked a few times, then sighed and closed her eyes again. The two adults laughed. Judy felt tears welling up in her eyes. This had to be the happiest day of her life._

_* * *_

_Judy was just leaving the grocery store two weeks later when she found herself surrounded. There were at least twenty of them, people in varying scary silver masks. One of them stepped forward. “Judith Marx?” She blinked, and reached instinctively for her wand. But she was disappointed to find nothing there. Even after all these years, sometimes Judy could still forget exactly how much she had given up for her family._

_The man chuckled. “See? This is exactly why muggles are useless filth. They do nothing but drag you down with them. But right now, our leader is interested in meeting with you. I have no idea why, but I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s in everyone’s best interests for you to cooperate.”_

_Judy couldn’t see any way out of this situation, so she nodded. The man grabbed her arm, and they disapparated away. Judy staggered once they were on solid ground. It had been a long time since she had traveled like that._

_The man beckoned for Judy to follow him. “Well, come along. Our leader is not a very patient man.”_

_He led her down the dark hallway, then gestured for her to enter the only room in front of them. She obliged, and gulped as the door behind her was slammed shut. There, sitting on a chair that looked more like a throne than anything, was a strange, ageless looking man. Judy let out an involuntary gasp as she recognized the lunatic that had been terrorizing the wizarding world for years._

_He grinned smugly, and waved to the stool that was across from him. “Please, feel free to take a seat.” Once Judy was seated, Voldemort sighed. “Oh, Judy. There’s no need for you to be so worried. I simply want to talk.” Judy gulped and nodded. “See, there’s this prophecy. It told me the identity of the only person who could possibly defeat me. So I slaughtered him and his parents.” Judy’s eyes widened as she connected the pieces._

_Despite the fact that she had given up magic for the most part, Judy hadn’t let herself be completely cut off from the wizarding world. She had heard about the murder of the Potters’ down in Godric’s Hollow. Judy gasped. “The Potters’... that was you?”_

_Voldemort nodded, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Of course. But see, it’s come to my attention that there’s another prophecy out there, also about me. I know that your precious little muggle has it in his possession. I need you to bring it to me.”_

_Judy was shaking. “I… I can’t do that. I can’t betray him.”_

_Voldemort shrugged nonchalantly. “Very well.” He tilted his head, and one of his Death Eaters entered the room, carrying a small basket. He placed it on Voldemort’s lap, then hurried away._

_The creepy man peered down into the basket. “You know, I’ve always wondered what goes on in a child’s mind. Will she be capable of feeling the betrayal of you letting her be tortured rather than give up your boyfriend’s secret?” He pulled out his wand, and held it over the child. “We shall see. Crucio!” The baby was lifted out of the basket, and she began screaming and wailing, her entire body shaking. It was the first time Judy had ever heard her calm baby cry._

_Judy’s eyes widened in horror. She leaped forward, and without even thinking about it, she swung her fist at Voldemort’s smug face. He laughed, and ducked away, and Judy snatched his wand. She wasn’t thinking, and she brought the wand up, then swung it down over her knee as hard as possible, landing with a loud crack that splintered the thing right in half. Erika fell back into the basket, her crying still so loud. Judy grabbed the basket, and ran._

_She was stopped after a few steps by the main Death Eater, who stepped forward slowly. “Now, just be a good girl and get that prophecy, and you won’t have to worry about any consequences on your family.” Judy knew that was a lie. As soon as he got what he wanted, Voldemort would kill all of them, just like he had killed the Potters’._

_Judy dove forward, taking the Death Eater by surprise. She grabbed his wand, and disapparated from the dingy hallway. She found herself back in her apartment, to her relief. But she knew that this place wouldn’t stay safe for very long. She dug her real wand out of hiding, and sighed with relief at the feeling of holding an old friend._

_She began tossing things haphazardly into a suitcase, keeping Erika levitating near the ceiling to keep the baby out of her way while she packed. She sobbed. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so, so, sorry.” The little girl just giggled softly, seeming happy with not touching the ground. The front door opened, and David was home early. He walked in, and his eyes widened. He dropped his suitcase, which landed with a muffled thud on the carpet. “What the hell…?”_

_Judy sighed. “Listen, David, there’s something I need to tell you…”_

_* * *_

_Judy returned to the apartment after discussing things with a few people, and sorting out a few last minute problems with her plans to run. But she didn’t really care where they went, as long as they went there together. Judy immediately pulled out her wand when she heard nothing but silence._

_She went into the bedroom, and saw that David’s suitcase was gone, and there was a scrap of paper on the bed. She snatched it up, expecting some kind of ransom note for her family. Instead, she sank down onto the bed._

Dear Judy,

I can’t do this. Magic and terrorists and a psycho after our baby? That’s just too much for me. You said that this guy is after my sphere, so I’m taking it with me and Erika. I can’t let an innocent baby be caught up in all of this madness. I’ll never be able to let you know how sorry I am for all of this, but there was no other choice. If you’re with us, you’ll only bring danger with you. I hope that you know I love you, so, so, much, but Erika has to be the priority here. I’m sorry.

-David

_The door flew open, and several Death Eaters came in, followed by Voldemort, who had a sickening grin on his face. Judy felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach._

_* * *_

_It had been two years, and lots of running and hiding, but Judy had finally done it. She glanced down at the scrap of paper in her hand, and then back up at the building, to make sure that she was at the right address. She took a deep breath, and blasted the door off of its hinges._

_Judy stormed inside, and flicked her wrist, pinning the man to the wall before he could slip out the window. He struggled fruitlessly, and Judy raised one eyebrow. “David. Did you miss me?”_

_He scowled. “This isn’t you, Judy. You’re not this person.”_

_She scoffed. “You wouldn’t believe what a mother would do to get back her child. I’d do… pretty much anything at this point. And it’s all your fault. We could have all left together, and kept each other safe.”_

_David shook his head. “We would never be safe with you around.”_

_Judy shrugged. “Where is she?”_

_David pursed his lips together. “You’re not going to hurt me. Because deep down, you still love me.”_

_Judy sighed. “The truth is, I do still care about you. But like you said, Erika has to be the priority. All I have to do is hand over you and that goddamned orb, and me and my daughter will be free.”_

_David shook his head. “You can’t honestly believe that, can you?”_

_Judy frowned. “Tell me what I need to know.” David shook his head stubbornly, and the woman sighed. “Then I guess that means we’re doing this the hard way.” And she pointed her wand at her ‘host’._

_* * *_

_Voldemort nodded at Judy. “Excellent job. Now I just need to listen to this prophecy, and figure out who I need to kill next in order to maintain my future.” He held up the prophecy, and a frown slowly crawled over his face. “Hmm… not quite what I was expecting. But I’m not really opposed to it either, so it doesn’t matter one way or another.” He shrugged apologetically at Judy. “I’m terribly sorry.” But that smug grin said that he wasn’t sorry at all._

_Judy frowned. “What-?”_

_Voldemort raised his wand, and pointed it at the little girl who was looking around in confusion. “Ava-” Judy leaped forward, and put up a shield around her and the young child. Voldemort shouted, and he pitched the white globe at them._

_She scooped up the toddler, and brace herself against the shattering sphere, then disapparated away. She found herself standing just outside a bookshop. She went in, and approached the counter. She had been planning on leaving as soon as Voldemort had let her off the hook, but now that he was after their lives, escape was more urgent than ever._

_The man behind the counter recognized Judy, and he held up the book that she had ordered several months ago. She grabbed it, and tossed a few coins at him. She went to an empty house far away, and flipped open the book to the first page, and held out her wand as she began reading._

_Once she was done with the last word on the last page, the whole world seemed to glow blue, and then everything went black._

_* * *_

_Judy groaned at the nasty headache she had. She slowly opened her eyes, and found herself staring at… herself. She bolted up. “What the-”_

_The other Judy raised one eyebrow. “Who are you?”_

_Judy frowned. “Judith Marx. Who are you you?”_

_The other Judy sighed. “Judith Marx. But how is this even possible? How did you get here?”_

_Judy bit her lip as she contemplated telling the other Judy about what had happened. Finally, she pressed the tip of her wand to her head, and pulled out a long silver strand. The other Judy silently accepted the memories. She left the room, and returned an hour later, a shocked look on her face. Judy raised one eyebrow, and other Judy nodded. She pulled out her own memories, and offered them to Judy. Then she pointed to the next room, where there was presumably a pensive waiting._

_From the few memories that Judy was given, other Judy’s life had been almost the exact same as hers, up until meeting David. Other Judy had been in the same alley, but she had left when she was supposed to, rather than sticking around because of some gut feeling._

_Judy returned, and saw other Judy gently cooing at Erika, who was now looking around sleepily. Judy reached out to take her baby, and smiled. “Erika, it’s been a while. How are you?”_

_The little girl scrunched up her face. “Danni…”_

_Judy frowned. “What?”_

_The girl sighed. “Me… I’m Danni. Not… Ewika.”_

_Judy gasped, and pulled the girl into a hug. “Sorry. Of course you’re Danni.”_

_The girl pushed back against Judy’s chest. “Where’s mommy and daddy?”_

_Judy smiled. “I’m your mommy.”_

_Danni shook her head. “No you’re not. I want my mommy and daddy!”_

_Other Judy frowned. “I think she means my sister and brother-in-law. I mean, that’s where she’s been living for the past couple of years, right?”_

_Judy nodded. “That’s probably true.” She felt like crying. Her daughter didn’t even know her, let alone think of her as a mother. “It might be best if we drop her off there, at least for now.”_

_Other Judy agreed. “Ana might not be too happy to see me after all this time. We haven’t spoken a word to each other since the day she got into Gryffindor.”_

_Judy furrowed her eyebrows. “What are you talking about? Ana’s a muggle.”_

_Other Judy laughed. “I wish. Maybe then she wouldn’t have completely snubbed me the way she did.”_

_Judy sighed. “God, this is weird. I think Ana will freak out if she sees both of us.”_

_Other Judy reached out to take back Danni. “I know my sister better, at least in this version of the world, so I think it would be best if I talk to her.” She smiled comfortingly. “At least your wish of getting to a world without Voldemort has been fulfilled. You don’t have to worry anymore. The Potters’ son, Harry? He survived the attack, and somehow destroyed the dark lord in the process. So you don’t have to run and hide anymore.”_

_Other Judy left then, balancing Danni on her hip. Judy gulped as she looked around the mostly familiar apartment._

_* * *_

_Judy returned after a long trip. Even though Voldemort had been killed, there were still Death Eaters out there, and she had made it her life’s mission to find them all, and make sure that none of them got away. She rolled her eyes in annoyance as water dripped onto her carpet._

_She whipped out her wand when she realized that there was someone else in her apartment. The light flicked on, and other Judy was standing there, her hands crossed over her chest. “I can’t believe this.”_

_Judy raised one eyebrow. “What?”_

_“You haven’t been arresting them, you’ve been murdering them!”_

_Judy shrugged. “I’m still not seeing the problem here.”_

_Other Judy’s eyes flared with anger. “You’re a murderer! You’re no better than any of them!”_

_Judy’s eyes flicked down as her counterpart slowly rolled up her sleeve. There, on her arm, was that snake slithering down from the skull. Judy pointed her wand at other Judy. “You’re one of them!?”_

_Other Judy nodded. “I always have been. Those people, they’re my friends. They’re good people, despite what you may think. And I can’t let you continue to kill all of my friends.”  
Judy snarled. “Oh, I don’t think that you have any say in the matter. If you’re one of them, then that means you deserve to die, too!” She began slinging spells at her doppelganger, and other Judy had no choice but to defend herself. They fought for a bit, until other Judy managed to blast Judy right out the window._

_Judy landed on the sidewalk outside, and she got up. The freezing rain quickly soaked through her clothes without her umbrella to shield her. She disapparated, and landed outside a familiar house. She pounded on the door angrily. It was too dangerous for Danni to stay here when a Death Eater knew the exact location._

_She was shouting in a high pitched voice, trying to be heard over the rain. “Let me in! You know that you have no right to keep her away from me!”_

_The door was swung open, just a sliver, and there was an anxious young woman standing inside. “Please, you can’t take her, you don’t understand, she’s already called us her parents, please-”_

_The angry woman shoved the door open and stomped inside, not caring that she was tracking in mud and water. “You give me back my daughter you bitch! You already have your son, why must you take away my child as well?”_

_The other woman shook tears out of her eyes. “It’s been four years, and you are no more fit to be a parent now than you were back then. She is our daughter now.” A young man joined the dryer woman, and wrapped an arm around her waist._

_He nodded in agreement. “Judy, what kind of life would you be able to provide? You are not capable of being a mother.”_

_The soaked woman looked furious. “Fine, then. Not now. But someday, she will come back to me, of her own volition, and there will be nothing you can do. I don’t care what you think, Daniella is my daughter, and I won’t let you keep her!” She spun around, and there was other Judy, covered in just as many bruises and scratches. It was hard to tell through the heavy rain, but the woman seemed to be crying. Judy sneered. “What the hell are you-”_

_There was a knife thrust into Judy’s chest. She blinked once in surprise, then keeled over. The young couple held out their wands, unsure of what was going on. Ana looked back and forth between the Judy lying in the doorway, and the Judy standing out in the rain. “What’s going on?”_

_Judy sighed. “It’s kind of a long story. Even I don’t know all of it.” She crouched down, and extracted the silvery strands of memories before the dying Judy could let out her last breath. She carefully put them in a small glass jar, to view them later. She vanished the body, and looked at her sister. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” She turned the leave, but then hesitated, and turned back. “Is it okay if I…?”_

_Ana nodded once. “I’m sure that Danni would be happy to have you in her life. But… I am her mother, do you understand?”_

_Judy nodded gratefully. “I… thank you.” Then she turned and hurried away._

_* * *_

_Judy packed up the last of her other self’s things. She left the apartment, and started walking outside. Suddenly, a black shadow whooshed in front of her, quickly turning into a man in a silver mask. “Judy. Voldemort’s not dead. Come back to us.”_

_Judy looked up at the apartment building behind her, then back at the man. “What about…”_

_The man took off his mask. “We know that the one who’s been killing us off was just someone who drank some polyjuice potion, or something. You would never do anything like that.”_

_Judy nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”_

_* * *_

_For everyone that had been in the other Judy’s world, there had been an almost identical copy here. Except for Danni. There was only one Daniella Cobb, dead or alive, in this world. But Judy had enough on her mind without worrying about that. The girl wasn’t really anything more to her than a niece, and that was enough for her. Besides, it was Jacob who seemed ready to step up and join Judy._

_The woman stood up, and stretched her arms over her head, listening to the satisfying twin pops of her shoulders. This was going to be a great year. Harry Potter was finally going to go down, Voldemort would finally come back, and Danni would be attending Hogwarts for her first year. How exciting life could be._


	41. Harry

Harry had trouble getting through the hallway the next morning. He was heading down at the same time as always, but for some reason, the hall was extra crowded today. He tapped on the shoulder of someone in front of him, and cleared his throat. The younger Hufflepuff turned around. Harry looked around, then back at the younger student. “What’s going on? Why’s the hall so jammed up?”

The kid’s eyes widened. “Haven’t you heard? There’s a girl missing. The professors are talking to everyone before letting them in.” He grinned. “This has to be the most exciting thing to happen so far this year.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Other than the tournament, of course.”

Harry couldn’t help feeling annoyed. “Who is it?”

The boy shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been stuck all the way back here for a while. Good luck getting into the Great Hall, though. I think they’re sending around trays of food so we don’t all starve to death while we’re waiting around.”

The boy turned back around, and was immediately engaged in another conversation. Harry sighed. He was not in the mood to be waiting around like this. He crossed his arms over his chest, and tapped his feet impatiently. A few minutes later, someone lightly tapped on his shoulder. Harry turned around.

A Gryffindor in the year above Harry was peering around with interest. “What’s going on? Why the holdup?”

Harry sighed. “Some girl has gone missing, and the professors are talking to each student individually before letting them into the Great Hall.”

The boy frowned just as his stomach growled loudly. “Well, this sucks.”

Harry shrugged. “I think they’re sending some carts with food on them around, so that the people who aren’t at the front of this obnoxious line don’t starve.”

The boy nodded. “That makes sense. So, who is it that’s gone missing?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s probably just some first year who couldn’t navigate the moving staircases properly, or something. I’m sure she’ll show up in no time.”

The boy nodded. “Well I certainly hope so.” Then he turned to talk with one of his friends who had just shown up.

After a few more minutes, one of the food carts passed by Harry. He snagged two muffins, and then turned and hurried away. He was in no mood to wait around in that crowded hallway for another few hours. 

He was on his way back up to the seventh floor, so he could just go back to the common room. On the way, he bumped into Neville. Harry grabbed his friend’s arm. “Hey, it’s really crowded up there. It’ll take forever for you to get through that line, possibly all day.” He held out one of the muffins. “Here.”

Neville accepted the food, and began to walk alongside Harry. “Why’s there a big crowd up there?”

Harry took a bite of his own muffin, chewed it slowly, and swallowed. “A girl’s gone missing, and it seems like the professors intend to interrogate everyone individually.”

Neville tilted his head. “Then shouldn’t we go and get into the line so the professors can interrogate us and rule us out as having any knowledge on it? Besides, who’s missing?”

Harry shrugged. “I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. But I know that I haven’t been involved in the disappearances of any girls recently, and unless you know anything, what’s the point of standing around and wasting your time like that.”

Neville sighed. “I guess that makes sense. Well, we could try locating her using some spells, or something.”

Harry shook his head. “I’m sure that the professors already thought of that. If there’s some reason that even they can’t track her down, then there’s really nothing that we can do about it.”

Neville shrugged. “I suppose that’s true. But still, I feel bad.”

Harry shrugged. “I’m sure that whoever it is, she’s just fine.” The boys arrived back at the Gryffindor common room, and they went through the small tunnel behind the portrait of the fat lady after giving her the proper password. They both jumped back when the embers in the fireplace suddenly flickered into the shape of a face.

It was an unfamiliar one, and both Gryffindors knelt in front of the fireplace with caution, their wands gripped tightly in their hands. The woman in the fireplace sighed. “Alright, so who am I talking to right now?”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “Who wants to know?”

The woman sighed, and rolled her eyes. “Children these days. So much mistrust and disrespect. I don’t like it at all. But that’s besides the point. The point is, I need a message relayed to…” The woman shuddered, and pursed her lips, and then spoke like her next to words were physically paining her. “... Harry Potter.”

Harry kept his tight grip on his wand. “What’s the message?”

The woman sighed. “Alright, right to the point, I get it. You may want to write this down.” At that, Neville grabbed a piece of abandoned parchment from the small table, and a quill. “Here it is, and I quote, ‘I’m sorry that I left so suddenly, a family matter came up. I won’t be returning to Hogwarts anytime soon, and because I value our friendship, I felt it necessary to say thank-you, and I’m sorry. Good luck in the tournament, I know that you’ll do great. I wish you all the best in life. From Danni’”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Wait- Danni’s the missing girl? Is she okay? Where is she?”

The woman rolled her eyes. “You’re obviously a few crayons short of a pack. Did you not just hear that heartfelt letter from her? She’s fine, but you’re probably never going to see her again. What do you care, anyways?”

Harry’s shoulders slumped forward. “I’m Harry.”

The woman raised one eyebrow. “Like I couldn’t see that giant scar on your forehead.” She shook her head. “Anyways, take care. Blah blah blah. Bye.” Then the face disappeared.

Neville glanced down at the writing scrawled across the parchment. He spoke in a soft, soothing voice. “Harry… I really think that we need to tell an adult about this. They need to know that we have some information on Danni. It seems like she left on her own free will, which means they don’t need to keep searching.”

Harry shook his head. “There’s no proof that she chose to leave, other than the words of some stranger in the fireplace. If we show this to the professors, they’ll call of the search, and if Danni really is being held against her will, she’ll be stuck forever.” He reached out and grabbed the parchment from Neville. “I think it’s best if I just hold onto this for a while. And we should keep this between us.”

Neville sighed. “Harry, if you really think that Danni’s being held against her will, then the professors need to know everything possible about her kidnapper. That would be easiest if we went now, while the memory is still fresh in our minds.”

Harry’s gaze hardened. “I just don’t think that this is something that the professors need to hear about. Please, just promise that you’ll keep this between us?”

Neville frowned. He was being asked to chose between his friendship and loyalty to Harry, and the potential well-being of another student. He sighed. “Harry, I’m sorry, but I can’t make that promise. If Danni’s been kidnapped, then her life is at stake, and I can’t risk that. I’m sorry.” He turned and left the common room. Harry stood there for a moment, speechless. He looked down at the parchment in his hands, and quickly read it a few more times. Then he tossed it into the fire, and watched it turn to ashes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N If you’re thinking that Harry’s actions in this chapter are illogical, then you’re probably right. But he’s never really been good at thinking straight when it comes to Danni


	42. Danni

Danni pulled back with a gasp. She looked at her aunt with new eyes. She had been expecting something unusual for sure, but nothing this outlandish. She couldn’t help all of the different emotions crossing her face. Danni gulped several times, and took a few deep breaths before she was able to say anything. “You… there were two of you…”

Judy nodded. “Yes. Another me from another version of this world is the one that gave birth to you. I never even knew the man, David, from anything other than my counterpart’s memories.”

“Why… why have you kept this a secret from me all this time? Apparently my parents know, but does Jacob?”

The woman shook her head. “Your brother is no more aware of this situation than you were an hour or two ago. Though I guess technically he’s not your brother, he’s more like your distant cousin, or something.”

Danni sighed. “Well, apparently I’ve had more different homes than I can count. First other Judy and David. Then just David. Then my other parents. Then the other Judy. Then my parents.” She shook her head. “This is all so completely crazy…”

Judy nodded. “I know that it’s a lot to take in. But that’s why I never wanted to tell you about all of that. If I’m being honest, I probably never would have mentioned it to you even once in your life if you hadn’t brought it up first.”

Danni nervously fidgeted with her hands. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked down at the ground. “Well, as long as we’re getting everything out in the open over here, you should know something about me… something that not many people know about. I can read minds, you know.”

Judy frowned. “What are you talking about?”

The girl sighed. “For as long as I can remember, which apparently isn’t even far enough back to remember living in an entire parallel universe, I’ve been able to listen in on the thoughts of the people around me. If I concentrate hard enough, I can even hear the thoughts of people who are far away, or of several people at once, as long as they stay within a decent range of each other. When I was little, I could control this curse about as well as one can control their breathing. You can control your breathing to an extent, but no matter what, you’re going to need to breath again eventually, and you’ll probably be gasping for breath at the time. But now I have it completely under control. Which is why you need to let me stay at Hogwarts, where I can help Harry.”

Judy crossed her arms over her chest. “That kid has been on our most wanted list for as long as you’ve been alive. Admittedly, that’s not even really that much time, but it is an entire lifetime’s worth of waiting, at least to him. The point is that this kid has been an enemy far too long for me to simply accept you saving him.”

Danni frowned. “So what are you going to do? Keep me locked up in this random hut in the middle of nowhere while one of my closest friends gets killed off in some stupid tournament?”

Judy sighed. “He’s not going to die in ‘some stupid tournament’. He’s going to die for the sake of my boss, Voldemort. He needs to kill Harry in order to live, and I’ve got no doubt that he’s going to go through with it as soon as it becomes the most convenient objective. I’m sorry, Danni, I really am. And I understand that you can never really get over your first love, but this is a situation where you’re really going to have to try to. It’s too late for him, Danni. His fate was set long before either of you were born, in any world. He’s really just been living on borrowed time, anyways.”

Danni glared at the woman. “What the bloody hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Judy looked apologetic. “In the other world, the one where the other Judy and David have you, you were born, and the baby Harry Potter died with his parents. In this world, you aren’t technically supposed to exist, and you weren’t born here for some reason. In this world, the baby Harry Potter lived.” She looked at the girl like that should clear up everything, but it really didn’t.

Danni crossed her arms over her chest. “That really doesn’t help much.”

Judy groaned. “How much simpler do I have to make this? It’s no coincidence that in the world you lived, he died, and where you weren’t created, he lived. It means that you two, for some inexplicable reason, have fates that are always destined to oppose. It also means that you both technically share one fate.” She sighed. “At any given moment, in either world, there should either be a living Harry Potter, or a living Danni Cobb. You should never both live at the same time. It messes with everything. Especially considering that fact that not only are you not supposed to be alive in this world, you’re literally not supposed to exist!”

Danni stood up. “That’s bullshit. We’ve already lived simultaneously for fourteen years. Why would that have to change all of a sudden?”

Judy shrugged. “I guess because for fourteen years, you never interacted, or crossed paths in any way. But now that you have, you’ve set in motion your intertwined fate. Now the world is finally catching up on the fact that something somewhere went wrong. And one of you two will have to die to right all the wrongs of this world, and I’m not going to let it be you.”

Danni shook her head, and spoke in a hard voice. “I want you to tell your men to bring me back to Hogwarts. I don’t want to stay here and keep listening to all of your shitty lies. Don’t you think I’ve been through enough already?”

Judy stood as well, towering over her niece. “I can’t let you go back. If I do, then you’ll just end up doing something stupid, under the impression that it was heroic. It’s Potter’s blood that will make Voldemort’s flow again, not yours, so there’s no reason for you to get hurt. Nothing about this world really concerns you, so you should just learn to take protection when it’s offered, and don’t interfere with our business. Do you understand?”

Danni closed her eyes, and turned away from the Death Eater. She wished that whatever the big revelation was going to be, that it hadn’t been that. She hoped that no one out there was really walking around. Being stuck here where she couldn’t warn Harry of danger was going to suck.


	43. Harry

Harry looked around Dumbledore’s office, and had to admit that it wasn’t necessarily a good thing that the whole place was becoming rather familiar. He glanced at Neville, who was sitting in the chair next to him, refusing to look at Harry. Neville was upset. He wanted to help find Danni if she really was in trouble, and if she wasn’t, then that was also something that the professors needed to know. The two boys hadn’t spoken at all since yesterday morning, which was rather sad.

Obviously Harry wanted Danni found safely, so it made no sense for him to burn the parchment with Danni’s supposed words on them. Maybe Harry really didn’t want Danni being found? Or maybe Harry was just being stupid. It wasn’t like that never happened before.

After a few minutes of sitting in awkward silence, waiting for the headmaster to show up, Harry cleared his throat. “Neville… I’m sorry I burned the paper. But if the professors saw it, then they would stop looking for Danni. It was for her own good.” Neville sighed, but didn’t say anything. Harry scowled. “Anyways, you should really be the one apologizing to me. I don’t think I’ve ever really asked you for much, but I asked you to keep that between us, and you immediately went out and told everyone who would listen.”

There was the sound of footsteps to interrupt Harry’s misplaced anger, and Dumbledore entered his office. He smiled pleasantly at the two boys, noting that they both seemed rather upset with each other. He sat down behind his desk. “So, by now I’m sure you’ve both heard that a fourth year is missing. Daniella Cobb. She hasn’t been seen or heard from in three days already, and she was officially reported missing two mornings ago, when her friends hadn’t seen her all of the previous day. It has also been brought to my attention that neither of you were at breakfast yesterday morning, when we were attempting to learn anything we could from the students.” He looked at them both carefully. “So I’m just going to ask you now, easy enough. Do you know anything about Daniella’s whereabouts?”

Harry peered over at Neville in surprise. Had the other boy decided to not tell anyone after all? But that wouldn’t make any sense, because Neville was too noble to not say anything if there was the life of a student at stake. So maybe Dumbledore was just trying to see if Harry would deny the things that Neville had already confessed? But that wouldn’t really make much sense either.

Neville slowly turned his head to look at Harry. He had disapproval, and a lot of doubt in his eyes, along with a large amount of guilt. He looked away quickly, and Harry sighed. So maybe Neville had been trying to leave it up to Harry whether or not they told. He was a good friend after all, and Harry ignored the part of him that was scolding him for thinking that someone’s safety should ever be ranked lower than someone else’s friendship.

Harry took a deep breath. “Sir, we just-”

Neville interrupted. “Actually, the reason that we weren’t at breakfast yesterday morning was because I had a lot of work that was due, and I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the due dates, and I needed to be able to finish it, or risk failing my classes.” He sounded perfectly natural, not at all like he was lying. Harry was impressed. “Harry stayed behind because he was helping me with my work. I know he doesn’t seem like the most studious of people, but he does have his moments where he can actually seem like he’s intelligent.”

Harry fought not to scowl at the insult, and instead focused on Dumbledore’s reaction. The man had been a headmaster for longer than Harry had been born, and he was seemingly a master of knowing when he was being deceived. But he just nodded acceptingly. “I see. Well, you two are free to return to your classes.” As the boys stood up, he chuckled. “Mr Longbottom?” Neville turned to face him again. “You may want to do your work in a more timely manner next time. I promise it won’t kill you.” Neville nodded, his face slightly red, and he hurried out of the office, with Harry right on his heels.

They ran back to their dorm room, and they both flopped down onto the couch. Harry sighed. “I’m sorry I thought you were a traitor.” He looked over curiously. “But why would you risk lying to the headmaster, when you seemed so sure that telling them was the best option we had?”

Neville shrugged, and let out a long sigh. “I guess… I suppose that what you were saying yesterday was entirely illogical. I find it rather difficult to believe that our professors would just drop their search entirely because of that note. They would probably at least want to do a little bit of further investigating. But you’re my friend, Harry, and you made it clear that you were strongly against going to the teachers with this. So I decided to withhold a little bit of information. If you hadn’t burned the stupid note, then we would have more to work with right now-”

Harry frowned. “Wait a second. What do you mean ‘we’?”

Neville raised one eyebrow. “Do you seriously believe that I would lie to the headmaster himself just to let you run off on your own and look for Danni?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think so. I’m helping you look for her.”

“Why? You barely know her. She’s just a stranger to you, really.”

Neville rolled her eyes. “You’re much thicker than I thought. Harry, I wouldn’t just let a student get hurt, or worse, if there was something that I could possibly do about it. I’m not going to sit around here and let something horrible happen just because you insisted on doing this yourself. And besides, she’s important to you, so it’s important that we get her back.”

Harry’s face flushed, and he cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I am sorry about the whole burning of the letter thing, but it’s not like we could have learned much from it anyways, since it wasn’t actually written by anybody who has Danni.”

Neville nodded. “Alright. Then a good place to start would be the person who gave you the message. She said your name with more disdain than I could ever imagine a person having, so she obviously dislikes you. A lot. Have you made any enemies lately?”

Harry raised one eyebrow. “You mean besides Voldemort and his terrifying army of Death Eaters? No… I’d like to think that other than them, I’m rather well liked.”

Neville flinched at the mention of the Dark Lord’s name, then tilted his head curiously. “Maybe it was a Death Eater, then? Someone working for You-Know-Who might have figured out that you care for Danni, since it’s not like you’ve been doing a whole lot to hide it, and they decided to hurt you by going through her. Or maybe using her as bait, and hoping that by telling you to not come, you would do the exact opposite, and show up.”

There was a soft sound from behind them, and the two boys turned around in surprise. Hermione was standing there, the portrait door open behind her. She had her arms crossed. “If you two think that you’re doing this alone, then you’re both stupid. I’m coming with you.”

Harry sighed. “Alright, good. We could use your brain.”

Hermione nodded, satisfied, and she sat down across from the boys. The three of them had a lot of talking to do.


	44. Danni

Danni peered out the tent flap at where Judy was standing around a small fire, discussing something with a few other death eaters. When one of them started to look over, Danni ducked back inside. The tent was much bigger on the inside, and while that might normally make Danni curious, make her eagerly try and figure out what combination of spells were used, this wasn’t a normal time.

Danni paced back and forth in the tent, grateful that it blocked her from all of those death eaters. Even if she had seen them before, that didn’t stop her from being intimidated by them. Especially after hearing about all the things that they had done at the Quidditch Cup over summer break. That had to have been terrifying for those that witnessed it. 

After a while, Danni’s stomach grumbled, and she paused in her pacing. It was tempting to go out there and ask if they had anything to eat, since she couldn’t just make food appear out of nowhere, but then she decided against it. Her aunt was the only one out there that Danni trusted at all. The rest of those losers were just plain evil, and Danni didn’t want to have to talk to them.

When her stomach growled again a few minutes later, Danni rolled her eyes at the inconvenience. But she couldn’t go to sleep when her entire body felt so hollow and empty. Maybe that feeling was because of all of her new revelations, but at least part of it had to be credited to hunger. While Danni couldn’t do anything to change what Judy had told her, she could at least find something to eat. Maybe it would make her feel a little bit less helpless.

Just as she was considering going out there despite all of the people she was uncomfortable with being there, the tent flap was lifted, and Judy stepped in. She smiled gently, knowing that Danni was probably feeling scared and confused. 

She walked forward, and held a plate out towards Danni. It had some food on it, and Danni’s stomach responded eagerly to the offer. Danni reached out and accepted the meal. “Thanks.” Her voice came out a little softer than usual.

Judy nodded. “You’re welcome.” She turned to go, but then suddenly turned back around, and looked at Danni, though it seemed like her eyes were more focused on Danni’s feet than her face. She cleared her throat. “Hey, uh, how you holding up? I know that you’ve got a lot to process right now, and I just wanted to make sure that you’re alright.”

Danni sighed. “Is it possible for me to go back to Hogwarts? That’s where I really want to be right now.”

Judy frowned. “Why would you want to be there when you already know how dangerous it’s going to get?”

Danni put the plate down on a small table, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Because that’s currently the only place where everything makes sense right now. Plus that’s where all my friends are, and if things are really going to get that bad, then I want to be able to help them protect themselves. Is that really so much to ask?”

Judy’s frown deepened. “But I’ve already explained to you that it’s only possible for you or Harry to exist peacefully in this world. I know you, Danni. If you go back to Hogwarts, then you’ll interfere as much as you possibly can. You won’t want to watch Harry die, so you’ll end up saving him, and then it will become your fate to die, in order to keep the balance of the world. The Dark Lord needs Harry, not you, so he’d probably go after the boy again as soon as possible, and then your sacrifice would have been for nothing. Is that really what you want?”

Danni stared up at her aunt stubbornly. “Maybe it is.”

Judy shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve already taken the liberty of sending Harry a message in your stead, saying that you are alright, and then you left of your own free will. That should have mollified him enough to go on with the tournament. It’s too late for you to do anything, Danni. I’m sorry.”

Danni furrowed her eyebrows. “You gave him a letter that wasn’t even from me? What the hell, Judy? That is not the way to win someone over. And it’s never too late. You said that he’ll die in the tournament, but I told him not to enter the tournament, and he takes what I say very seriously. He’s probably decided to just drop out-”

There was a loud commotion coming from outside of the tent, and Judy hurried out to see what the heck was going on. Danni walked over to the entrance and peered out. She saw Jacob standing in the middle of all the Death Eaters, a small frown on his face. Danni rushed out of the tent, and ran over to her brother.

As soon as he spotted her, Jacob scooped her up into a tight hug, and then put her back down. Judy was looking at him with one eyebrow raised. “Why are you here?”

Jacob sighed. “Because they’ve postponed the tournament.”

Many of the Death Eaters looked pissed off at that proclamation. Judy shushed them, and turned her attention back to Jacob. “Why would they do that?”

Jacob nodded over at his sister. “Because they have a missing student. The tournament is dangerous enough for those that are in it, but with someone who isn’t even a champion already missing, it’s been decided that they must hold off on the events until she is found. Danni has to go back to Hogwarts if you want the plan to work out. After all these years, are you going to let the Dark Lord down just because you didn’t want to let Danni go back to school, where she clearly wants to be?”

Danni smiled warmly at her brother. He was trying to help her. But Judy looked unhappy at that. She couldn’t just explain that Danni would die if Harry lived, since Jacob didn’t know about any of that parallel world stuff. She shook her head. “It’s too dangerous.”

Jacob put his hands on his hips, and tilted his head. “It’s only as dangerous for her as it is for anyone else, right?”

Judy narrowed her eyes. As far as anyone else was concerned, that was probably true. And if they refused to resume the tournament while a student was missing, despite that reassuring note that Judy had given them, then all of their hard work and planning would really have been for nothing.

But if Judy allowed Danni to return to school, then the girl’s first action would probably be to tell Harry about everything. Then she would do something stupid to save Harry’s life, and in order for the world to keep it’s own balance, it would do everything possible to ensure that Danni didn’t survive. 

Danni cleared her throat. “Don’t I get a say in this? I’ve already told you that I want to return to Hogwarts, what more could you possibly want? Just let me do this, Judy. Please.”

Judy sighed. She spoke in a soft voice. “I’m sorry, Danni. I’m so sorry for what your future holds. But it’s Harry’s destiny to give his blood to the Dark Lord, and it’s your destiny to live. So you can’t-”

Jacob snorted. “This is some bull.” He jumped forward, grabbed Danni’s arm, and disapparated away before any of the Death Eaters could stop him. Judy’s eyes widened, and then she let out a piercing scream.


	45. Harry

Harry growled in annoyance, and tossed his book across the room. Hermione caught it with a quick spell before it could collide with the wall and potentially cause any damage. She looked at Harry with one eyebrow raised. “Being a stupid git isn’t going to get your girlfriend home any quicker, you know.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I already told you that Danni’s not my girlfriend. And you know as well as I do that it’s already been a week since Danni went missing. She could be literally anywhere right now for all we know, and she could be in any condition. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather find her in one piece. As soon as possible.”

Hermione sighed. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have tossed our only clue as to her whereabouts into the fire. Do you really not know how illogical and weird you get when it comes to this girl? Why haven’t you asked her out yet?”  
Harry sat down, his arms crossed over his chest, a pout on his face. “Now who’s being a git?” He muttered under his breath. Neville sat down next to Harry, and smiled comfortingly. “Hey, don’t worry, Harry. We said that we’re going to help you get your girl back, and we fully intend to keep our words in this matter.”

Hermione nodded eagerly. “Of course we’re going to help you. You’re our friend, Harry, and we do care about your happiness, despite what you seem to think of us. And it’s obvious to us by now that Danni is a part of your happiness.”

Harry shook his head, a slight red blush on his cheeks. “She’s just a friend.”

Hermione smiled knowingly. “Of course, Harry, just a friend.”

“She really is.”

Neville laughed. “Okay, Harry. She’s your friend. And she also has a bunch of other friends too, in Ravenclaw, but none of them are currently trying to figure out what’s happened to her. But they do all care about her too, so she’s been sorely missed. We’re going to find her Harry, but not just for you.”

Hermione paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. “Now, if only you hadn’t burned that note. Remind me again of what it said?”

Neville spoke in Harry’s place. “It said that Danni was safe, and to not bother looking for her. Or something like that.”

Hermione tilted her head. “Just out of curiosity, has anyone actually tried talking to Danni’s friends? They would be the most likely to know where she is, wouldn’t they?”

Harry shook his head. “We didn’t want them to think-” The portrait of the fat lady swung open, and Harry cut himself off. It wouldn’t look good if anyone caught the three friends discussing the girl who was missing, especially since someone had to have reported that Neville and Harry hadn’t gone to breakfast the morning that the professors were talking to everyone.

Ron was standing in the entrance to the common room, along with Seamus Finnigan. Ron looked at the three Gryffindors who were already occupying the room, and a hurt look crossed his face. “What are you guys doing?”

Hermione glanced at Harry, and the two silently debated whether or not Ron should be brought in on this. They had kept him out of the loop so far because they knew that he didn’t really like Danni, but it could be helpful if he were able to understand what was going on. Plus, then he wouldn’t think that Harry was just trying to push him further away.

Harry gave a quick head shake, and Hermione raised one eyebrow at him, looking slightly disappointed. Ron cleared his throat. “Well, there’s no need to stop your conversation on my account. I’ll just be leaving.”

Neville stood up. “Ron, wait.” Ron looked at him expectantly. “You know how that Ravenclaw fourth year, Daniella Cobb, has gone missing?” Ron nodded. “Well, we’re trying to figure out what happened to her, and hopefully conduct some kind of rescue mission.”

Ron frowned. “You guys are all complete idiots. The professors will be more than enough to make sure that she’s found and brought home safely. And besides, I don’t see how this is really any of your business.”

Harry stood up as well, and faced his best friend. “You know that I’ve been hanging out with Danni a lot recently. She’s a pretty cool person, and she makes a pretty good friend. She’s also probably the only person not in Slytherin who straight up hated me upon our first meeting.”

Ron snorted. “The Slytherins didn’t all hate you in the beginning, mate. They only started hating you when Malfoy told them to, since you had snubbed him back on the first day of school.” He chuckled. “Wow. It’s hard to believe that she hates you based on the way we’ve all seen her looking at you.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about? Of course she doesn’t hate me anymore. I’m not a hateable person, am I?”

Ron rolled his eyes. “So you guys are all trying to sneak around behind the professors’ backs in order to rescue this girl that once hated you, but doesn’t anymore. Yeah, sure, that makes about as much sense as anything else that goes on around this crazy place. But why didn’t you tell me? You’ve been avoiding me for a couple of days now, so obviously you’ve all been planning your great rescue for a bit. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Hermione sighed. “We know that you don’t exactly like Danni. It’s understandable, of course, considering the way that she’s managed to slip into Harry’s heart, and pull his attention away from his friends. We didn’t think that you’d want to help.”

Harry stared at Ron’s blank face intently. He wished that he had Danni’s ability to read minds so he would know how Ron was going to react to all of this. Too bad being able to read minds wasn’t contagious. 

Finally, Ron let out a deep breath. “I think that you guys are all completely bonkers. I mean, now that you’ve told me all of this, you’ve got to let me help you. Even if I don’t love her, I wouldn’t wish for anything horrible to happen.” Then he nodded at the boy he’d entered the room with. “By the way, since you’ve just told everything to him too, you’re going to have to bring Seamus into all of this.”

Harry let out a startled chuckle. He hadn’t even taken much notice of the second boy entering the room. Then he shrugged. “Well, I suppose that if there are more people helping, then it’s more likely that we’ll be able to find and rescue Danni as quickly as possible.” Then he motioned for the two newcomers to come over and sit on the couch next to the other three.


	46. Danni

Danni blinked and looked around. They were in a back alley in Hogsmeade, since it’s not like Jacob could just apparate them on school grounds. No one could do that. She turned to pull her brother into a big hug, and he awkwardly patted her back. “There, there. It’s all going to be alright.”

Danni looked up at Jacob with a big grin. “You know what? You are officially the best brother who could ever possibly exist. I don’t think that I’d ever want anyone else as my older brother.”

Jacob raised one eyebrow teasingly. “Not even one of the Weasley’s?”

Danni frowned. “What-?” Then she covered her mouth when she realized what Jacob was trying to say. Everyone knew that the Weasley’s were Harry’s family, which made the older boys practically his older brothers. Danni shoved Jacob in the arm. “Okay, I take it back. You are no longer the best brother in the whole world. I’m not going to lie, you are pretty good, just not good enough to make the cut. Sorry.” She shrugged, though a grin was playing across her face.

Then Danni’s smile slipped away, and she looked down at the ground. Jacob looked at her in concern. “What’s wrong?”

She peered up at her brother. “How exactly are we going to explain all this? I can’t just say that my death eater aunt took me away for my own safety. And If I say that I just decided to just take off without telling anyone or getting permission, I’ll be in a world of trouble. So what do I do?”

Jacob tilted his head. “So we just need to come up with a believable reason for you being missing…” He trailed off as an idea obviously occurred to him, though he looked hesitant to actually mention it. “You trust me, right?”

Danni nodded. “Of course I do. You’ve never let me down.”

Jacob sighed. “Well, you may not like this, but I think that I’ve got an idea. But we’ll have to wait until after everyone’s asleep if we don’t want to get caught, and then we can do this.”

Danni raised one eyebrow. “So what exactly won’t I like about your plan?”

Jacob shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just that sometimes you seem pretty adverse to drowning.”

Danni’s eyes widened. “What? What exactly do you have in mind?”

Jacob smiled sheepishly. “Why don’t you get some rest before we get too into it, shall we? I’ll book us a room at the the Three Broomsticks.” He motioned to the completely empty alley around them. “Just stay here for now. If anyone is coming closer, jut find a way to look like you’re busy, and you know exactly what you’re doing here.”

Danni frowned. “Why? It’s not like the professors are going to be running around Hogsmeade in the middle of a school day.”

Jacob sighed, and pointed to the window of the nearest shop. When she peered inside, Danni saw her face staring back. She felt surprised at the gesture. Her friends had put out missing posters for her. It was probably all that they could really think to do in a situation like this. Danni let out a deep breath. “Well, I don’t suppose that complicates things, does it?”

Jacob laughed, and shook his head. “I don’t know, Danni. It looks like Harry is just as desperate as you are for you to return to Hogwarts.” He winked in the most exaggerated manner he could manage. “Perhaps those feelings of wanting to protect are more mutual than you thought.”

Danni’s face turned bright red, and she turned away from her brother. “Oh, bugger off.”

She could still hear him chuckling as he began walking down the street. Danni pressed herself against the wall so no one would be able to see her if they glanced out the side window of their shop.

After a few minutes, Danni heard the sound of several voices talking over each other. They sounded familiar, so Danni inched closer to the window. She risked peering inside, just a bit, and saw Snape and McGonagall glaring at each other. Which was really rather strange considering the fact that they should be teaching classes at this time of the day. Unless Danni had completely lost track of time and it was the weekend? But if that were the case, there would be more students around on such a nice day. 

Danni leaned closer, trying to catch the specific words being exchanged by the professors. When she still couldn’t hear anything other than sounds, she whispered a quick spell to strengthen her hearing. Snape was in the middle of speaking. “-nature was everywhere. You know what that means.”

McGonagall pursed her lips together tightly, and shook her head. “I’m sure that it’s all simply a misunderstanding. There’s no way that those… monsters could have found a way into Hogwarts.”

Snape frowned. “Are you really ready to risk your golden boy’s life on the chance that I’m right?”

The older woman clenched her jaw. “And what would you know of their signatures, anyhow, Severus?”

He shook his head. “Resorting to first names, are we now, Minerva? Because if you could focus more on common sense than on your predisposition to hating me, then maybe we wouldn’t have a missing student on our hands.”

Minerva looked outraged at that statement. “Just what are you trying to say? That this is all somehow my fault?”

Snape shook his head. “No, no, that’s not what I meant.” He sighed with exasperation. “We need to work together if we want to find Cobb. Can we at least agree that there were signatures belonging to dark magic at the scene of the crime?”

McGonagall sighed. “We don’t know for sure that that’s what that was. And if you keep saying ‘the scene of the crime’, someone’s going to mistake you for an idiotic American detective wannabe.”

Danni slapped her hand over her mouth after the chuckle that came out. She immediately ducked back, hoping that neither of the teachers had seen her. Whatever her brother was planning, it had to be better than being caught spying on her teachers in Hogsmeade.

She undid her spell, then sank down to the ground, curling up into herself as much as possible. A few minutes later, she heard the front door of the shop opening, and she heard the sound of footsteps coming around the shop.

There was a crack as Jacob apparated behind her, grabbed her elbow, then disapparated away, hopefully to somewhere where there weren’t too many professors wandering around.


	47. Harry

Harry was startled out of his nap during History of Magic when Hermione shoved his shoulder to the side. He glanced at her sleepily. “What are you doing?”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, you’re a complete idiot. I know that you’ve been staying up late to make more missing posters, but you still need to pay attention in class. What if you were expelled due to your horrible grades, and Danni returned to this place and you couldn’t see her again? Or worse, she doesn’t return, but there’s nothing you can do, because you aren’t allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts? Have you even stopped to consider any of that?”

Harry frowned. “Oh come on, give me a break. She’s been missing for eleven days already, and I have no idea what the bloody hell I’m supposed to do to fix any of this?”

Hermione raised one eyebrow. “‘Fix it’? You do realize that literally nothing that’s happened was your fault, right?”

But he turned back to the front, and tried to pay attention to what was going on in class. After about half an hour, there was urgent knocking on the door, and then several students ran in. They were all soaked through, and they were out of breath. One of them ran to the front of the room. “Professor! You have to do something! There was a student in the lake!”

The short man straightened up, and looked over the four soggy students questioningly. Two more rushed into the room, and they were carrying another student between them.

Binns hurried forward to see what the hell was going on. Every student in the class was talking, trying to figure out what had happened. One of the soaked boys gestured to the two carrying a clearly unconscious body. “We were just hanging out outside, when the robes washed up.” One of the six held up the barely recognizable Hogwarts robes. “So Daniel, who’s the best swimmer amongst us, dove in. He came back up and said that she was stuck, and from there, it took all of us to get her dislodged. She was caught under a big rock.”

Binns motioned to a few students who were sitting closest to the door. “Go alert the nurse, immediately!” They hurried off, and Binns told the boys to not put the girl down. He motioned for them to follow as he escorted them down to the infirmary. Harry got up to look at the wet robes that had been discarded onto the floor, making a large puddle spread out around it.

He thought that his heart froze when he saw the familiar Ravenclaw patch on the front, and the fact that even considering the very soggy state of them, the robes were awfully small. He glanced back at Hermione, and gestured to the robes. Hermione’s eyes widened. “Shit!”

Harry gathered up the robes into his arms, and began walking towards the infirmary. When he got there, he heard the professors talking, and he paused next to the doorway. 

The nurse sighed. “This is pretty bad. She’s been under there presumably since she was first reported as missing. She’s only hanging on now because she was smart enough to cast a breathing spell before she passed out from the pain. Then she was stuck under there, since almost her whole body was pinned under a pile of rocks that seem to have collapsed.”

Binns cleared his throat. “When you say ‘pretty bad’, how bad do you actually mean?”

Madame Pomfrey sighed. “Well, there’s the crushed bones all over, and the bruised lungs from surviving for so long on hardly any air, and the cracked ribs, and the bloody scratches and bruises everywhere. And even if she’s still breathing, she hadn’t used a spell strong enough to prevent any oxygen deprivation. I can get to work on healing a lot of this, but there’s some things that we won’t know for sure until she wakes up.”

Harry cleared his throat as he stepped into the infirmary, hoping that if he drew attention to himself, it would look like he had just arrived, and had totally not been eavesdropping on them at all. Because that would just be wrong. He held up the cloak, which was still steadily dripping onto the floor.

“Uh, sorry, but I think that you left behind Danni’s robes. Or at least, I’m assuming they’re hers, since they have to belong to someone who’s a short person in Ravenclaw who’s been missing for a while, which would bring only one face to mind, but uh, anyways, here.” He extended the arm that the limp robes were resting on.

He tried to peer past the professors, but they casually blocked off his view. Madame Pomfrey frowned at Harry. “Now you of all people should know exactly how important it is for people to rest up and heal when something unfortunate happens. You should probably be getting back to class now.” She turned to the boys who were dripping water everywhere. “And you boys should take warm baths, and change into some dry clothes. We’ve already made note of your names, and your part in saving another student’s life will not go unnoticed.” The boys nodded, and hurried off.

Harry sighed, and left the infirmary. There was nothing else he could do there anyways. As he walked back to class, he couldn’t help frowning to himself. Danni was in Ravenclaw because she was smart. Why would she ever just go into the lake for no apparent reason?

When he stepped back into the classroom, he saw that the professor had gotten back ahead of him. Those were the perks of being able to go through the walls, Harry supposed. He sighed as he sat back down, and leaned closer to Hermione. “They wouldn’t let me get a good look, but I have a bad feeling that that was Danni.”

Hermione looked concerned. “Well, at least one good thing about that is that it would mean that Danni hasn’t just run off and abandoned her classes, or worse, been kidnapped or something. Though if she really has been trapped in the lake for almost two weeks, I’d love to know what breathing charm she used.” Then Hermione shook her head. “I wish they would teach us the Patronus charm when we’re younger, because then Danni could have used it to send out a message for help.”

Harry shrugged. “I didn’t know you could use your patronus to send messages.”

Hermione nodded. “Harry, you were able to make a very powerful patronus last year, but you didn’t bother reading up on it a little bit? Weren’t you even the least bit curious about what they could do other than scare away dementors?”

Harry shrugged again. “I didn’t really think of it.” He sighed. “But none of that matters, because Danni doesn’t know how to make a patronus, and now she’s pretty badly hurt. I just hope that she’ll be okay.”

Hermione sighed sympathetically. “I’m sure that she’ll be just fine. Now pay attention, because I’m not letting you use my notes this time.”

Harry didn’t bother paying attention, because he knew that Hermione would, in fact, lend him her notes again. He just had his mind on other things, and couldn’t concentrate on boring history. He wondered about Danni’s ability. If she could read minds, would it be possible for her to somehow speak into other people’s minds? Maybe not, but it would certainly be useful. Especially if she were to ever find herself in a situation so dire again. Danni just seemed to have the sort of bad luck that always led to her being injured.


	48. Danni

Danni slowly opened her eyes, and groaned at the soreness she felt everywhere. But it was nothing compared to having all of the flesh on her hands stripped off, so at least there was that. She looked around, and saw that the rest of the infirmary was empty, so there was no one to talk to to pass the time.

Danni sighed. Well, Jacob’s plan had worked, as promised, but she couldn’t help feeling annoyed that it had ended with her back in the infirmary again. Wasn’t Harry supposed to be the one who was always getting hurt? If this happened too many more times, then she’d probably be able to tie him for most visits to the infirmary.

Speaking of Harry, Danni really needed to warn him. That was the whole reason she’d gone against her aunt, since otherwise she would have been mildly inconvenienced, but not really too upset about having to stay in a death eater camp for a while. But knowing that Harry’s life was in danger certainly changed all of that.

She closed her eyes to reach out as far as she could, trying to see whether or not Harry was close enough to contact. She wished that it wasn’t so dark out, because that probably meant that it was too late for many people to be wandering around. But then that was disproven as Danni felt a mind approaching.

Unfortunately, it was like the exact opposite of any mind that she’d actually be okay with interacting with right now. All of his thoughts were a complete jumble, with no clear words, but plenty of clear pictures that did a perfect job of demonstrating his anger. 

Danni was not in the mood to talk to Barty Crouch Jr. And without knowing exactly how long she’d been unconscious for, Danni had no way of knowing whether or not there’d been enough time for Judy to get word to Crouch that Danni had escaped. She held her breath, and looked around desperately, but there didn’t seem to be any form of escape, other than jumping right through the windows.

That would have been an option, but Danni could see that she didn’t have her wand anywhere nearby, and she wasn’t going to hurt herself further by jumping into thick glass. Finally, the twisted mind turned, and continued walking in a different direction, no longer headed towards the infirmary. Danni couldn’t help the large sigh of relief that came out of her mouth. She rolled over, trying to get back to sleep, since she had been exhausted. Everything that had happened lately had just been a roller coaster of emotions, and Danni was all worn out.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again next, she could see Madame Pomfrey on the other side of the room, talking to someone in a different bed, sounding unamused. “I really find it rather difficult to believe that this kind of injury could be gained accidentally, Mr Longbottom.”

There was a large sigh. “I can hardly believe it either. I mean, how was I supposed to know that drinking a fatiguing infusion would make me so tired that I’d trip down the stairs?” He yawned loudly.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head, muttering things under her breath. “I’m going to be right back. You’d best stay right here until I return.” Then she bustled off to her office. As soon as the door closed behind her, Neville jumped up, and hurried over to where Danni was currently resting.

His eyes widened when he saw that her eyes were open. “Oh, you’re awake, thank goodness. Harry’s been freaking out since the day you went missing, and he didn’t exactly get better when you were found.”

Danni cringed. “How long ago was I found, exactly?”

“It’s only been two days.”

Danni sighed. “And are you okay?” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, did you get hurt on purpose just to visit me?”

Neville grinned sheepishly. “It’s not that big of a deal. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t actually drink a fatiguing infusions. I just fell.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “Did Harry ask you to do that? Because if he did-”

Neville shook his head. “Nah. I mean, he was the one who came up with the idea, but he was planning on it being him that got hurt. I decided to take the fall. No pun intended.”

Danni sighed. “While, you’d better get back into your bed. Madame Pomfrey’s going to be back out here like now.”

Neville nodded. He hurried back across the room, and dove onto the bed that he had been put in. Madame Pomfrey stepped out of her office a moment later, looking at Neville suspiciously. Then she noticed that Danni was awake. She walked over to Neville, and poured him a small cup of whatever potion she was carrying, and instructed him to drink it slowly. He scrunched up his face at the foul taste, but drank the whole thing. When she prodded a few of his previously bruised spots, she seemed satisfied that the problem was fixed, and told Neville he could go, but to be more careful in the future regarding drinking potions and the stairs.

Once he was gone, Madame Pomfrey walked over to Danni’s bed. “How are you feeling dear?”

Danni smiled. “I’ve felt worse.”

The nurse nodded encouragingly at the fact that Danni’s speech seemed normal. “I just need to ask you a few questions, dear. Do you know your name and where you are right now?”

“Daniella Cobb, and I’m in the Hogwarts infirmary.”

The nurse nodded again. “Do you remember what happened to land you in here?”

“I was just hanging out, enjoying the day, when I thought I saw something moving around in the lake. I got too curious, and I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty strong athlete. I used to do track, back when I still went to muggle school. Anyways, I had cast a breathing spell before I went under, just to be on the safe side, and ended up going a bit deeper than I had planned on. I thought I saw someone over there, but as I was swimming, suddenly everything happened so fast. Water was whipping past my head, and sand and muck was everywhere, so I couldn’t see. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in here.” She looked worried. “What happened?”

Madame Pomfrey sighed. “There was some sort of underwater avalanche, and you were pinned beneath a lot of rock. Your breathing spell was what saved your life, though I can’t figure out exactly which one you used.”

Danni smiled a bit at that. “It’s one I came up with myself. There’s a few spells I’ve got that I came up with myself, and a few more that were a group effort. I’m just glad that I’m okay. But how did I get out?”

Madame Pomfrey smiled. “You were actually saved by a few of your peers. They happened to see something in the water, and they found you. A few spells to blast away the rock was enough to pull you out, and then they ran all the way back to the school.”

Danni sighed with relief. “Good. I’ll have to thank them as soon as you release me.” Then she stretched and yawned. “Can I take another quick nap before you let me out?”

Madame Pomfrey nodded sympathetically. “Of course, dear. Have a nice nap.”


	49. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been informed that my chapters for this story were a bit on the short side, so I’m going to try and make them longer when I can, probably by just combining two chapters together? Anyways, enjoy, though it is longer than normal [this note is from 2016, and I now write all of my chapters to be much longer haha]

Harry looked carefully at Neville. “And you’re absolutely positive?”

Neville rolled his eyes. “Come on, how many times do I have to repeat myself? Yes, Danni’s perfectly fine. She’ll probably be out of the infirmary by tomorrow.”

Harry sighed, then gave Neville a slightly guilty look. “And you’re okay?”

Neville nodded. “Yup. Madame Pomfrey got me all patched up. Honestly, I feel a bit offended that she so easily believed that I didn’t know a fatiguing infusion would make one tired. You’d think that I do stupid things all the time to get a reaction like that out of her.”

Harry raised one eyebrow, and exchanged a quick look with Hermione, who just shrugged. Sometimes it was better to just go along with whatever came out of Neville’s mouth. Hermione looked at Harry curiously. “So now that you know Danni’s safe, what are you going to do?”

He tilted his head. “What do you mean? We were just trying to make sure that she was found and brought back, and that’s about it. I’m not sure what else there is to do.”

Hermione stared at Harry for a moment, like she was trying to figure out whether he was joking or not. After a moment, Harry shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Hermione let out a snort. “I swear, you are just so dense sometimes, Harry. You obviously wanted Danni to be brought safely back to Hogwarts, though as it turns out, she never left. You were going to throw yourself down the stairs just to get an excuse to visit her in the infirmary. And now you haven’t gone an entire thirty seconds without asking Neville if he’s absolutely sure that Danni’s alright.”

Harry shook his head slightly, not able to connect everything to form the picture that Hermione, and many other students, were able to see so clearly. “I don’t know what you’re trying to get at, here.”

Hermione groaned. “Merlin, you’re a complete idiot! No wonder you two are still dancing around each other all of the time. Harry, you clearly have a major-”

Luna was the one who cut Hermione off there. Neville had brought her to the impromptu meeting. She spoke in her usual light and airy voice. “I don’t think that that’s the kind of thing that one should tell anyone else, unless they’re one of the two involved in the matter.”

Hermione sighed, but she knew that Luna was right. As much as she wanted to mettle with everything, she knew that it was really none of her business what went on in Harry’s love life. Though if the situation remained stagnate for much longer, then Hermione would have no choice but to interfere.

Honestly, based off of the way Harry had first spoken to Danni, back in the beginning, Hermione never would have imagined that now she’d be silently cheering them on as a couple. She didn’t normally feel so excited to be involved in anyone’s relationships, but Harry was her best friend, so it made sense that she’d be so happy for him.

Well, she would be if he could just pull his head up out of his arse for five seconds so that he could see what was already becoming increasingly clear to everyone else. 

Luna let out a soft sigh. “I think that I’m going to go down to the courtyard. I’ve got the feeling that there’s going to be something interesting going on down there.”

Hermione looked sideways at Luna. “Oh, do pray tell, what invisible creature is it this time that allows you to know that there’s going to be something going on in the courtyard.”

Luna pointed towards the window on the opposite side of the room. “I saw a bunch of people gathering down there, and that many people don’t usually gather at the same place at the same time unless there’s something very important or interesting going on. I thought that I would go investigate for you guys.”

Neville smiled. “That would be great, Luna.” She bobbed her head up and down in a nod, then turned and left the room, presumably heading out to the courtyard.

Ron snorted. “What a loon.”

Hermione turned to look at Ron with narrowed eyes, and she put her hands on her hips. “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

Ron shrugged, and grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. He wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d be able to get away with sharing his feelings out loud, obviously. 

Neville cleared his throat. “Anyways, now that you’ve got all of that information you need, I’m going to go find out what the commotion in the courtyard’s about.” He hesitated. “Not that I’m saying Luna isn’t capable of finding out on her own, it’s just-”

Harry chuckled. “We get it, Neville.” Neville nodded, then turned and hurried off in the same direction Luna had gone in. Harry looked over at Hermione, who was still glaring at Ron. “Hey, do you think that Neville likes Luna?”

Hermione shrugged, then snorted. She found it almost amusing that Harry thought he had any right to discuss who other people secretly liked when he couldn’t even figure out who he liked. 

Before Harry could say anything else, he shook his head. “Nevermind. I don’t want to hear you go on about how you’re not supposed to get involved in relationship drama, or whatever, when there’s studying and homework to be done. Come on, let’s go to the library to work on some homework,”

Ron and Hermione both looked at their friend with their mouths gaping open. Hermione was the first to recover from that unexpected statement. “Uh, sure thing-”

“so we can get to the infirmary as soon as visiting hours start,” Harry finished.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you’re so hopeless, Harry.”

Ron snickered at that. “Yeah, hopelessly in lo-” he made a wheezing sound as Hermione elbowed him in the gut, and shot him a warning glare. If Harry was too oblivious to realize his own feelings, then it wasn’t the right time for him to know about them. That was the kind of thing that needed to be realized by the person involved in the relationship. 

Ron continued muttering under his breath at that, but he didn’t say anything else, at the risk of Hermione causing him serious bodily harm. He wouldn’t put it past her. He rubbed the side of his stomach, which was now sore, but silently followed Harry back to their dorm room so they could grab their homework and bookbags to bring with them down to the library. 

Harry watched in amusement as Ron just shoved everything into his bag, then slung it over his shoulder. Then Harry gathered up his own things quickly but carefully. He really couldn’t afford to crumple any of his papers, lest his professors think that he really didn’t care about the work they assigned (even though he really didn’t).

The trio walked down to the library as quietly as possible, and when they got there, they made their way to their usual table in the back of the room. Ron dropped his bag down like it was on fire, while Harry and Hermione put theirs down with slightly more care. 

Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment, an almost excited look on her face. “You know, I’ve been pretty eager to start working on this essay that Professor Moody assigned. I think it’s one of the more reasonable assignments he’s given us.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Reasonable? You must be out of your mind. How is a three page essay ever something that could be considered reasonable?”

Hermione sighed patiently. “Well it’s better than, say, a five page essay, isn’t it? Besides, you get to choose the topic yourself. I’m sure there’s loads of defensive spells that you could write a solid essay about.” She turned her head. “What spell are you going to do your essay on, Harry?”

He thought about it for a moment. “I think that it would be easiest to do mine on the Patronus Charm, since it’s something I know all about now.”

Hermione nodded encouragingly. “That’s an excellent idea, Harry. I’m going to do mine on protego totalum. There were several different protegos to choose from, but this one seemed like it could be the most useful in the long term. Not that I think we’d ever need to use it of course, but it’s always helpful to add another spell to your repertoire.” She turned back towards the redhead. “Have you decided your topic yet, Ron?”

Ron frowned. “We’ve been here for less than five minutes. How would I have gotten a chance to choose yet?” He rolled his eyes.

Harry and Hermione both smoothed out their sheets of parchment, and pulled out their pens and inkwells. Ron scowled at them both, and leaned back so his chair was balanced only on the back two legs. He wasn’t really in the mood to be writing an essay at the moment, and he had no idea how his two friends were.

As he worked, Harry listened to the sound of his pen scratching over paper, and at such a steady pace, it was almost a soothing noise. He dropped his pen in surprise when he heard a familiar voice. “Harry?”

Harry made a noise of surprise, which startled Ron into leaning forward, forcing the two front legs of the chair to slam into the floor with a loud bang. He looked around, but frowned when he saw that no one had entered the library while he’d been working. His friends looked at him with some concern.

As Harry glanced around again, he noticed the clock on the wall. “Oh hey, visiting hours in the infirmary started. I wasn’t trying to scare you guys.”

Hermione looked at the two filled out pages in front of her. If she stayed behind, she’d be able to finish the whole essay and be done with it. But Harry was her friend, so supporting him was more important. Well, the fact that the due date wasn’t for another two weeks probably had something to do with it as well.

Hermione stood and packed up her bag, then followed as Harry pretty much bounced out of the library and down to the infirmary. They went inside, and Harry quickly walked over to the only occupied bed in the room. Danni was propped up against what looked like a mountain of pillows behind her, and she grinned when she saw the trio, though Hermione knew that the smile was directly at Harry only.

Danni scooched to the side, and patted the edge of the bed to show that whichever person couldn’t fit into the two chairs could sit next to her. Harry took the bed seat, leaving Ron and Hermione with the chairs. Harry smiled gently. “So how are you?”

Danni rolled her eyes. “Come on, like you don’t already know. I know why Neville was in here.”

Ron snorted. “I told you he’d tell her. Now she probably thinks you’re barking mad.”

Danni shook her head, and spoke with a perfectly straight face. “Oh, don’t worry, Nevill didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.” She looked closer at Ron and Hermione, trying to read their reactions off of their faces only. “I read his mind.”

Harry chuckled nervously at that. Ron snorted, and Hermione just rolled her eyes. Harry quickly tried to change the subject. “So how much longer are you in here for?”

Danni smiled. “Madame Pomfrey said that I could leave before lunch.”

Madame Pomfrey, who was standing nearby to make sure the other students didn’t provide too much excitement, frowned to herself. She’d been thinking that she’d probably release Danni in time for lunch, but she’d never actually said it out loud to the Ravenclaw girl. How strange. 

Then Danni gave Harry a look that he couldn’t quite decipher. She took a deep breath. “I don’t want people to hate me, but I’m tired of having to hide who I really am. It’s rather exhausting over all.” She turned to look at Ron and Hermione. “You guys are Harry’s best friends, and I know he trusts you more than anyone else in the whole world. If I want to be Harry’s friend, then I need to trust you guys too.” Harry felt a strange pang in his chest at the word ‘friend’. “I can read minds.”

Ron raised one eyebrow. “You just made that joke.”

Danni shook her head. “I’m not joking.” She glanced at Harry.

Harry sighed. If this was really wanted Danni wanted to do, then it wasn’t on him to stop her. It was her gift, and she could share it or hide it from whoever she wanted to. He cleared his throat. “It’s true, guys. She can read minds.”

Hermione stood up. “But that’s impossible. The last wizard who tried to create a spell to read minds accidentally killed his test subjects!”

Danni stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “It isn’t a spell. It’s just me. I’ve been able to read minds as far back as I can remember.” She even knew the reason why now, thanks to Judy’s show and tell session, but Danni wasn’t stupid enough to think there would be no consequences to telling people her family was thick with Death Eaters. 

Hermione shook her head again. “But I don’t understand how it’s even possible. It shouldn’t be.” She wished now that she’d just stayed in the library to work on her essay. She wasn’t sure what was going on here, but it wasn’t anything she wanted to be a part of. If this was a practical joke, then it had gone too far to be funny.

Hermione’s head shot up when she heard Danni’s voice again. “‘I wish now that I’d just stayed in the library to work on my essay. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but it isn’t anything I want to be a part of. If this is a practical joke, then it’s gone too far to be funny’. That’s what you were thinking just now, right?”

Hermione’s eyes widened, and then she started giggling softly. “Harry, you must be jealous. For the first time ever, there’s something strange going on that isn’t directly related to you.”

Danni bit her lip so she wouldn’t mention the fact that according to Judy’s memories, Harry was pretty involved, in the whole ‘one must live, the other dies’ sort of way. Then she gasped as she remembered the whole reason she’d needed to come back to Hogwarts. “Harry, I need to tell you something very important-”

The door to the infirmary opened, and several Slytherins swaggered in. The girl in front crossed her arms over her chest. “Please, do go on. Don’t let us distract you from what I’m sure was an absolutely fascinating conversation.”

Madame Pomfrey walked over to the newcomers. “Delia, what a surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you back here so soon.” She lowered her voice and spoke.

Danni choked back a giggle, and motioned for the golden trio to lean in closer so she could whisper. She decided to share with them the reason the older Slytherin had come to the infirmary.

Harry coughed. “That’s why they should teach sex-ed here the way they do in muggle schools. It would be a lot safer, I’m sure.”

Madame Pomfrey bustled past the friends on her way to her office. She came back out with a violently red potion, and all three friends could clearly guess what that was supposed to be for. They all quickly looked away so they wouldn’t do anything mean. 

Delia gratefully accepted the potion, and Madame Pomfrey looked at the girl sternly. “That’ll take care of the itching, and the rest will go away by the time you wake up tomorrow. Be more careful next time, won’t you?”

Delia’s face turned as bright red as the potion she was clutching tightly in one hand. She nodded quickly, then hurried away with her posse trailing behind her. Danni shrugged and looked at Harry. “Anyways, I just needed to tell you that if you win the tournament you’re going to die, that’s all.”

Harry blinked stupidly. “What?”


	50. Danni

Harry blinked stupidly. “What?”

Danni rolled her eyes. “Come on, keep up, Harry. I said that if you win the tournament then you’re going to die.”

Ron gulped. “How did you sound so casual saying that? It sounds like something that you’re used to saying…” he trailed off as his own ideas began to frighten him. “You’re not like a… murderer or something, are you?”

Danni crossed her arms over her chest, and shot the golden trio a glare that warned them to ignore the wince of pain as her sore ribs and bruised arms were shifted together. “No, I’m not a bloody murderer. Though you seem to be a bloody numbskull.” She shook her head, and kept her voice low. “You guys have broken plenty of rules over the years, so I think it’s only fair that I ask you not to judge my rule-breaking if you want to know what’s going on.”

Harry glanced at his two best friends, and they both gave an almost imperceptible nod. They’d kept quiet on plenty of other secrets before, so what difference could one more really make? Harry looked at Danni seriously. “Whatever’s going on, you can trust that we aren’t going to go and spill the beans. We aren’t stupid little first years anymore.”

Danni raised one eyebrow. “Well, I’d say that at least half that statement is right,” she chuckled. “And I’ll even give you a hint: we’re definitely not first years anymore.” She laughed again, then cleared her throat and made herself look more serious. “Anyways, all joking aside, I wasn’t just drowning right on the Hogwart’s grounds the entire time I’ve been missing. Admittedly, that seems to be how I’ve spent most of my time, but not the first couple of days. I was kidnapped by my aunt.”

Hermione leaned closer, looking interested. “Why would your aunt kidnap you? And how could she with Dumbledore always knowing what’s going on around here? Wouldn’t that mean that he knew you were kidnapped and just chose to not do anything about it?”

Danni shook her head. “My aunt’s pretty clever with her magic when she wants to be. Then again, it could just be because she gets so much help from her colleagues. And before you bother asking, I’ll just tell you. My aunt’s colleagues are all… Death Eaters.”

The three best friends immediately jerked back at the name out of instinct. After what they’d witnessed that summer, they all knew that Death Eaters were no joke. Hermione once again looked like she’d prefer to return to the library and continue working on her essay. “Why would you even go and say something like that? You could give someone a bloody heart attack!”

Danni frowned. “It wasn’t a joke. I’m sorry for telling you that, I honestly wasn’t planning to, but it adds credibility to what I have to say.”

Ron shook his head. “Oh, and we’re supposed to take your word worth anything after you just confessed to being related to bloody Death Eaters?” He hissed the last two words softly, like he was afraid to even say them in a normal volume.

Danni sighed. “Why would I tell you something like that to get you to trust me more? And you know that you cannot judge people by their family. Look at Harry. Everybody knows that his family consists of three huge arseholes, but that doesn’t mean that he is.” She tilted her head. “Except he sort of is, sometimes, so maybe that wasn’t the best example. All I know is that you don’t judge someone by their family, you judge them by their actions. Sure, my aunt and brother are in with you-know-who, but that doesn’t mean I am. And it’s not like my parents are involved in any of that crap.”

Harry sighed patiently, and gave his friends a glance that pleaded with them to stick around for just a bit longer. “Fine, say that we do decide to take your word on the matter, what makes you think that just me winning the tournament, which seems like an impossible task for me, will wind up with me dead?”

Danni clenched her jaw. “Because those are the plans that my aunt and her friends were working on, often enough right out in the open where I could hear them all night. The only reason I worked so hard to get away from them is because I learned that they were planning your death, and I thought that I’d be able to come back here and just tell you the problem, and let you figure out a solution. I’m tired of being the one who always figures out the solution.”

Harry sighed. “But I’m already in the tournament-” he tilted his head. “You’ve already asked me to drop out of it, a couple of weeks ago. You said that it would probably get too dangerous. And that was after reading Crouch’s mind, right?”

Ron and Hermione both looked confused at that. “Crouch? As in Barty Crouch the guy from the Ministry of Magic? Was he thinking something bad during the wand measuring stuff?”

Danni bit her lip, then shook her head. “No. Sorry, I forgot how behind you guys must be. No, we’re talking about that Ministry guy’s son, Barty Crouch Jr. He’s kind of a psychopathic Death Eater guy. I could describe him to you, but it would be useless because I only knows what he looks like through memories of him seeing his own reflection. That and the fact that he’s been guzzling down polyjuice potion like some kind of fizzy potion since the beginning of the school year.”

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to summon up any information that her brain might contain regarding Barty Crouch Jr. Finally, she just sighed and looked at Danni. “Well, either way, what you can do is incredible. Have you told anyone who could actually do anything with that information?”

Danni nodded. “Of course. Harry and I went to Dumbledore the moment we knew something was up.”

Hermione snorted, but she didn’t call them out on it. Even though not telling everyone that there was a psychopath among them right away was probably a bit mean. That Crouch Jr guy could be going around hurting people all the time, and the polyjuice potion would ensure that nobody ever finds out. 

Hermione stood up, though she didn’t make any move to leave the infirmary. “Honestly, at this point I’m inclined to believe pretty much anything people tell me around here. I am currently attending a school of magic, it’s not like I really have any right to judge anything as being impossible.”

Danni nodded. “Yeah. Especially when you come from a family of… people who clean teeth?”

Hermione almost asked how Danni knew that, but she caught herself just in time. Obviously Danni knew it via mindreading. Harry motioned for Hermione to sit back down, then he returned his attention to Danni. “So you went and hung out with some Death Eaters for a while, and now you’re just assuming that they’re going to try and kill me? Is that it?”

Danni sighed. “I swear, sometimes you are very dense. Yes, I just said that. The eaters were literally planning out your death right in front of me. I guess they were stupid enough to assume that I wouldn’t want to listen in. And when I say ‘right in front of me’, I mean on the other side of the hallway, behind a closed and sealed door. And when I say ‘stupid enough to assume I wouldn’t want to listen in’, I mean stupid enough to assume that I don’t have the ultra rare ability to read minds and such.”

Hermione took a deep breath. “Can you just tell us exactly what you overheard? Maybe there was some kind of miscommunication, and you just heard it come out all wrong, so your brain put it together as being correct when it really wasn’t. Or maybe you overheard something that you thought were plans for Harry’s death, but it turns out that really weren’t. Have you considered that?”

Danni spoke in an annoyed voice. She hadn’t expected that it would be easy to convince the others to get on her side, but she’d at least hoped that it would end up being somewhat simpler than all of this. Then she took a deep breath, and let it back out again. She couldn’t exactly blame the others for not understanding what she’d been trying to see.

She let out a sigh of exasperation. “My aunt specifically told me that she took me away from Hogwarts because things were going to get dangerous very soon. She told me that I couldn’t come back, because she was afraid that I would do exactly what I’m doing right now, which is warning you guys that Harry’s life is in danger.”

Harry frowned. “But how is any of that going to happen? I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand. Hogwarts is a safe place.”

Danni scoffed. “Yeah, sure, real safe. You’re still talking about the place where there was a mountain troll let in by a professor, and people being frozen in place and sent to the infirmary, and dangerous criminals breaking in and causing strict lockdowns. You are still talking about the place where all of that’s happened, right? Because I wouldn’t exactly qualify it as a safe place around here.”

Harry nodded in acquiescence. “Admittedly, all of that has happened. But if it’s really true that I’m going to die by winning the tournament, then what exactly is the plan to kill me? And couldn’t I avoid it by just not winning? It’s not like this seems like it’s going to be very easy, anyways.”

“As long as you participate, you’re going to win. Crouch Jr was the one who made sure that your name was going to be put in so that you could participate even though you’re underage. And he’s going to make sure that you get through every trial.”

Ron looked curious at that. “Wait, do you know what the tasks are going to be? Because if you already know then it would be so easy to win…” he trailed off when he saw the disapproving faces of his friends. “Fine, fine, I get it, you’re not into cheating. But it’s not even really cheating if you think about it. It’s just… using your resources wisely, or something like that.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know what the tasks are, and yeah, I could help you pass them, but what the hell would be the point in that when I already know that Crouch is going to ensure you win, and then he’s going to ensure that you die?”

Ron shrugged sheepishly. “I don’t know. It was just a thought.”

Danni didn’t look very amused. “Okay, so now that we’ve gotten all of the stupid thoughts out of the way, we need to think through a real plan. What the hell are we going to do to make sure that Harry doesn’t die? Because even if he can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, I don’t think that he really deserves to die.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, and something in her enormous brain seemed to click. Harry’s feelings were what she’d already been sure about, since she’d seen how he reacted to her disappearance, and even just from that first day where he was apparently off learning important secrets about Danni that no one would have ever been able to imagine. But Danni had still been a bit of a wildcard, at least until a moment ago. Danni had risked everything to return to Hogwarts, just so that she could make sure that Harry stayed alive, which meant that she obviously returned the feelings.

Hermione glanced at Ron, and he seemed to realize a moment later what his friend had realized. He looked back and forth between Harry and Danni, and wondered how the hell neither of them noticed the way that they were both staring at each other, without even a drop of awkwardness or anything. It was pretty clear what it meant, but apparently the two parties involved had no idea what was going on.

Danni looked up. “Ah, Neville’s coming. Luna too, I think,” she closed her eyes in concentration. “I could probably spend all day in her brain, it’s wild in there. Seriously, very interesting.”

A moment later, the infirmary door swung open, and Neville and Luna walked in, looking slightly worried. They made a beeline to the only four students who were currently occupying the large space. Neville stood at the foot of the bed, and put his hands on his hips. “Oh, hey guys. So Luna and I went down to the courtyard like we said we would, right, and we found out that someone heard about what the first task was going to be, so we thought you’d want to know-”

Danni interrupted in a bored tone. “The first task is dragons. They pull a mini dragon figurine out of a bag, and then they have to steal an egg from the real dragon. Harry’s going to get the hardest one so that when he wins, people won’t be hating on him so much. The more support he has from everyone else, the easier it’ll be to succeed.”

Neville gulped. “Oh.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “So did we miss something important? Because I feel like we did.”

Danni shrugged. “I mean, other than the fact that I revealed that I can read minds, and my aunt’s a-”

Harry suddenly leaned forward, and pressed his hand across Danni’s mouth. She looked at him with vague annoyance. Neville coughed awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable, and scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry- what? We don’t really have time for-”

Harry suddenly yanked his hand back, and Danni smirked. “You know, that always works without fail. I’m serious. I’ve never met a single person in my entire life who hasn’t pulled their hand away upon it being licked.”

Hermione sighed. “And how often do you find yourself in a situation where it’s necessary to lick someone’s hand, exactly?”

Danni waved the question aside. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that everyone here right now wants to see Harry walk away from this. If we don’t figure out a plan, though, he won’t. My… aunt… is very serious about protecting me. She believes that if you-know-who kills Harry, then I’ll be perfectly safe. That’s why she’s been so cooperative with her boss all this time. She’s under the impression that she’s acting in my best interest. So we need to figure out something, and fast.”

Luna clasped her hands together in front of her. “Oh, this is so much more exciting than I thought the year would be. And now there’s mind reading and murder plots on top of everything? This is great.”

Harry frowned. “Luna, I really hate to disagree with you here, but maybe you’d feel a bit differently if you were the one who has to worry for your life.” Then he looked back at Danni. “Why would your aunt think that you’ll be safe if Voldemort kills me? Is he blackmailing her, or something? Threatening your life to make your aunt do as she’s told?”

Danni shook her head, and let out a heavy sigh. “I wish that it was something like that. It’d probably be preferable.” She looked at the concerned faces around her, and shrugged. If anyone had told her three months ago that she’d be sharing all of this with these particular people, she’d have told them they’re crazy. But now she just wanted to be able to talk to someone, anyone, about all of the shit she’d been through, and everything she’d learned about herself in the process. But then again, if she told Harry about the theory that their lives were connected, then he’d try and the martyr. He’d let himself die so that Danni could live, and that would be totally unacceptable. If Voldemort did kill Harry, then he’d be able to rise to power and kill however many people he wanted to.

Which meant that at least in this, Danni was alone. If Harry died, not only would she never forgive herself, but she’d also be forced to witness many other murders to come. But if Danni was the one who died so that Harry could live, then everything would be okay.

Danni smiled, banishing the insecurities she was feeling about, well, everything at the moment. “I think she’s just afraid that my life ever would be threatened, and she thinks that if she helps take you down, then she’ll be in good enough favor to ask for me to never come to any harm.” The others accepted that explanation, because it’s not like Danni had any reason to lie at this point in the game. 

Well, obviously she did. There was only one way for everything to end that wouldn’t result in massacres and other horrible terrorist acts. Danni was going to save Harry Potter’s life, and she was absolutely going to die trying.


	51. Harry

Harry looked up at his two best friends. “Can you believe that someone wants to kill me?”

Ron snorted. “Mate, there’s been people trying to kill you since you were like a year old. What makes you think that this year would be any different?” He shook his head at Harry’s tired look. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I just meant that there’s been kooky things happening for a while, and you’re almost always at the center of it all.”

“Well, not the chamber,” Hermione interjected. “That one was Ginny’s fault.”

Ron frowned. “Hey wait a second, that’s hardly fair. It’s not her fault that that damned book was possessed.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Ronald, I don’t think you’ll ever be able to win in an argument against me. I can always simply bring up the fact that you let a full grown man sit in your lap for years.”

Ron’s face flushed. “Okay, that totally doesn’t count. Pettigrew-”

“Guys!” Both of them looked over at Harry. “You shouldn’t be arguing about stupid stuff right now! We need to figure out a way for me to get through the tournament without winning and without dropping out like some kind of loser. At this point, it’s got to be way too dangerous to even consider winning.”

Hermione frowned. “Danni had mentioned that Crouch Jr has been taking polyjuice potion for a while. But for him to be able to manipulate everything for you to get in, it doesn’t make sense that he’d be anyone too unimportant. He’d need to be able to get close to the goblet without seeming totally suspicious.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. About that, there’s actually a reason that Professor Moody seems so insane sometimes. It’s because he’s actually a psychopathic Death Eater named Barty Crouch Jr.”

Ron and Hermione both looked like they were going to be sick, which wasn’t something Harry was particularly interested in seeing. Hermione was the one who was able to speak first. “So you mean that the man we’ve been learning from and looking up to all this time has been a Death Eater all along? If that’s the case, then where’s the real Mad-Eye? And did you mention all of this to Dumbledore when you went to talk to him about it?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, we mentioned it. But Dumbledore basically said that he couldn’t really do anything about it because there was no proof to back us up. Maybe if we could convince Danni to go public with her ability, then people would have to believe her about Crouch Jr. But as long as she wants to remain anonymous, there isn’t anything that can be done.”

Hermione looked angry at that. “You mean she has to live with the thoughts of everyone around her, but she can’t even do anything to help people when she hears thoughts that are bad? That’s bloody ridiculous!”

Harry nodded again. “I know. I was honestly surprised that she even wanted to tell you guys what she can do. Before I came along, her brother and parents were the only ones who knew her secret. I don’t know why she trusted me with it, but she did. Which means that I need to find a way to make her gift not totally meaningless. You guys will help me, right?”

“Of course, mate. If Danni being able to read minds is what’ll save your life, then we’ll do everything within our power to make sure that someone will listen to her. We’re not going to just lose you after all this time because we didn’t feel like trying to help.”

Hermione sighed. “I really do feel bad about the things I was thinking when we first met her. I mean, I know that I already apologized, but that was before I realized that she could’ve heard my exact thoughts. They weren’t very flattering. In my defense, I thought that she was just trying to use you, since you’re the famous Harry Potter. But I suppose that that’s not really much of a defense at all. Even if I’d feel more comfortable knowing that my thoughts are private, that doesn’t mean that it should be okay for me to be judgmental, even if no one else is supposed to be able to hear it.”

Ron gave Hermione a sympathetic look. “Well, I wasn’t exactly thinking the nicest things during our first meeting, either. I don’t really have anything to say in my defense. I guess we’re both just going to have to be a little bit better, aren’t we?”

Harry gave his best friend a bright smile. “See? She’s already growing on you, and you’ve only known her biggest secret for a few hours.”

Ron chuckled. “Mate, she’s been growing on us a little bit at a time as soon as we noticed how happy she makes you. As long as she can continue to make you happy, then she’s got to be alright in our books.”

Harry frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I swear, I don’t know how you manage to be so thick all the time. Ron’s talking about the way that your eyes light up whenever you see her. The way that you always have that little smile on your face whenever you talk about her. There may not be something going on between you two, but you definitely wish that there was, don’t you?”

Ron peered back at Hermione. “What happened to not butting in on someone else’s relationship because it’s their own business if they want to be a complete numb skull about everything?”

Hermione shrugged. “Maybe I was wrong,” both of the boys looked at her with their mouths wide open, and she rolled her eyes. “It’s not impossible for me to be wrong, you know. It’s not like I know everything,” both of their mouths dropped open even wider. Hermione just shook her head. “You guys are ridiculous. Anyways, we still need to come up with a way to make everybody aware that Crouch Jr is dangerous, and that Harry’s life is in danger.”

“Without outing Danni as a mind reader,” Harry quickly added.

Ron sighed. “Man, and I thought that that essay Moody assigned us was going to be hard enough. Well, not the essay that Moody assigned us, but the essay that Crouch Jr assigned us while pretending to be Moody… anyways, you guys know what I’m talking about. I don’t want to do any more homework for that creep for the rest of the year.”

Hermione tsked. “No matter how much you like him, you can’t just use this as an excuse to skip out on your responsibilities. You don’t want him to know that you know about his real identity, do you? Because he seems like the type of guy who would literally kill you for something like that.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Danni said that his mind is totally messed up. That there’s not even any comprehensible thoughts in there, just a whole bunch of pictures and feelings. She said that it totally freaked her out to be inside his head for even a few minutes.” Harry stood up, and stretched his arms over his head. “I’m just not sure what we can do, though. I mean, Crouch Jr thinks that no one’s onto him, and he’s got the reputation of Moody to back him up at the moment. And who’s going to believe that someone read his mind when we can’t even tell them who?”

Hermione stood up as well. “Not to mention the fact that the rest of Danni’s theory comes from things she overheard while being held captive in a Death Eater camp. There’s no way she can tell people that her aunt, a Death Eater, kidnapped her. Especially not when the official story already says that she’s simply been trapped in the lake the entire time that she was missing. So none of the information Danni’s managed to get, from any source, will be enough to lock up Crouch Jr for good.”

The golden trio looked stumped. None of them knew what they could possibly do. Finally, Hermione turned to Harry. “Danni said that the first challenge was going to be stealing an egg from a dragon, right? And that you were going to be getting the hardest one to improve your reputation? Well, if there are dragons being kept around Hogwarts, it really shouldn’t be too difficult to find them. And then maybe we can see what kinds they are, and start coming up with ways to get passed them.”

Ron furrowed his eyebrows. “Seriously? Why would we want to help Harry? I mean, I know why we’d want to help him normally, but this seems like different circumstances. If we help Harry win, then we’re only helping get him into the position you-know-who wants him to be in to kill him.”

Hermione sighed. “Idiot. If we don’t help him and he’s killed off by a dragon in the very first challenge, then we haven’t been able to accomplish anything at all. At least if we can figure out some way to keep him going, we’ll be able to buy more time to figure out a more permanent solution that doesn’t end with anyone dying.”

After a few more minutes of silence, Harry started to head towards the door. “I think that I’m going to go track down Neville. Maybe he’ll be able to help.”

“Except you didn’t let Danni tell him about the stuff you let her tell us about. Doesn’t that mean that you don’t really trust him enough to be asking for his help on this?”

Harry shook his head. “No, of course not. I didn’t let Danni give him all of the information because it occurred to me just how dangerous all of this is going to get. I don’t want to drag Neville into this anymore than I have to.”

Ron sighed. “So you’ll sacrifice your two best mates but not another bloke? Jeez, man, I thought that we were friends.” Harry was going to say something in protest, and Ron just laughed. “I’m only joking. If you think that Neville can be of any help, then you should definitely go talk to him. Because we’re going to need all of the help that we can possibly get.”

Harry nodded, and left the dorm room. He figured that Neville would most likely be out in one of the greenhouses, since that seemed to be where he liked to spend most of his time. Harry turned out to be right, when he saw that Neville was standing in front of a table full of plants, talking to them in a gentle voice. Harry couldn’t help laughing a bit at the sight.

Neville turned around, and his face flushed red. “Just so you know, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect that talking to plants makes them grow faster. Don’t be so immature about it.”

Harry smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just wanted to talk to you about something.” He perched on the edge of one of the long tables. “I’d like to ask for your help on a matter of very sensitive topic. Let’s just say, hypothetically, that there was a wizard who could read minds. And they read the mind of someone who was planning on murdering someone else. How would you deal with something like that? Hypothetically, of course.” 

Neville frowned, not entirely sure why Harry would be asking him this. It didn’t seem like something that would be common knowledge to someone who was attempting to major in the care of magical plants. Finally, he sighed. “Well, I guess you’d have to get some more evidence that the person is actually planning a murder, otherwise it’s just one person’s word against another’s. You could try casting a truth spell on them, or give them some kind of truth serum, in front of a lot of important people. Then you could just prod them a little bit, and they’d spill their secret in front of everyone. But there’s other things too, I’m sure,” he looked at Harry nervously. “Why are you asking me this, anyways?”

Harry shrugged. “No reason. It was just a random hypothetical question. Don’t worry about it, it’s something that muggles do all the time. It’s no reason to be alarmed, and everything in the given scenario is totally false.”

Neville gave Harry a strange look, but decided not to question his friend’s weirdness. “Alright then. Do you know anything about when this hypothetical person is hypothetically planning on murdering someone?”

Harry shrugged. “Sort of. I mean, we know the general time, but there’s no way of knowing exactly when. It’ll have something to do with the conclusion of the tournament. Hypothetically. And we know where to find the hypothetical murderer at almost any given time. Is there some way to give him a truth serum or something like that without it being detectable?”

Neville walked over to a large purple plant, and plucked off a dark purple leaf. He handed it over to Harry. “If you mix this in with any basic potion, it makes the potion automatically undetectable. Finding away to slip some of the potion to your hypothetical murderer is on you.” Harry started to leave before Neville shouted. “Oh! And make sure that you administer the serum half an hour before your guy will be in front of a lot of people. If it’s any longer than that, he’ll spill all of his secrets to an empty room.”

Harry grinned. “Thanks Neville. You’re a good friend.”

Neville’s face flushed. “Who wouldn’t want to help a mate slip a hypothetical potion into a hypothetical man who needs to tell the truth in front of a large group of people?”

Then Harry hurried away, making sure that the leaf in his pocket wasn’t rustled or crunched. He wouldn’t want any of whatever made it work to spill out into his pocket instead of into the potion. Harry wondered for a moment what made him trust Danni so much that he was willing to drug a teacher just to find out the truth. He decided it wasn’t worth it to try and figure it out just yet.

As Harry walked through the first floor, he found himself quickly approaching several professors, and knew that he wouldn’t want them to catch him acting suspiciously. Which unfortunately meant he couldn’t just turn around and stroll away whistling.

Harry walked past them, trying to act as normal as he could. He forced the muscles in his face to relax so that he wouldn’t look quite so tense. He went around them, and began to head towards the grand staircase. Just when Harry thought that he was in the clear, he heard a voice call out to him. “Mr Potter! We were just looking to speak with you.”

Harry turned to face the professors, and saw that McGonagall looked pleased to see him, while Snape looked just as sour as he always did. Snape cleared his throat. “We were just discussing how we think you’re going to fail the first task and find yourself dropped out of the tournament.”

Harry smiled awkwardly. “Well, we can all hope, can’t we sir.” Snape looked a bit surprised that Harry wasn’t defending his skills, and saying that of course he’d be able to excel in the tournament. “I mean, if this tournament was intended for people seventeen and eighteen only, it’s got to be pretty difficult. I’d rather drop out in the first round then stick it out just to be eaten by something in the last round. I’m sure you’d understand, right sir? Anyways, I should be heading back to my dorms. I want to be able to finish all my homework before the first task is announced.”

McGonagall rolled her eyes. “We may be old, but we’re not blind. We already know that everyone’s been informed about the nature of the first task. When we find out who leaked the information, the proper punishment will be devised. Until then, it’s only fair that we make the official announcement as soon as possible to avoid any unfairness between contestants. I don’t think that you’ll have time to finish all of your assignments before the announcement.”

Harry frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Mr Crouch will arrive soon, and the announcement will be made after dinner tonight. I hope to see you there, Mr Potter. You should be present when there’s going to be something important that involves you.”

Harry nodded, and glanced between the two professors, trying to see if there was anything else that they needed from him. They didn’t seem like they were going to say anything else. “Well, I’ll be sure to be there. I’ll talk to you later professors.” Then he turned and hurried up the stairs to the seventh floor. He was going to need Hermione’s help to perfect the potion, of course, and he would have to figure out how exactly he was going to get Crouch Jr to drink it. But he knew that he’d be able to figure everything out as long as he had the help of his friends.


	52. Danni

Danni nodded a bunch of times, until the nurse finally released her with a slight look of annoyance on her face. Danni grinned, and then ran out into the corridor. It was right in the middle of class time at the moment, and Danni had the rest of the day off. She wasn’t expected to be back in her classes until tomorrow morning, in case she needed a bit more time to rest or get back into the swing of things. She took her time, wandering around for a bit before actually heading back to her house.

Back in the Ravenclaw common room, Danni found herself almost immediately surrounded by a gaggle of girls. At first, she smiled at them, thinking about the fact that they’d been worried about her. Then they started going on about what work she’d missed, and how many exams she’d need to make up. And then the conversation quickly moved onto the girls quizzing each other on things that were going to be on their next exam.

When Danni extracted herself from the group, it didn’t appear that any of them even noticed. She just gave them all fond smiles, and gently told them that she was tired, and wanted to take a nap. A few of them acknowledged that, and then they continued to study.

Sometimes Danni wondered why she’d even been put into Ravenclaw. She wasn’t nearly as obsessive about studying as the rest of these people, though she did always make sure that she studied enough to have top marks. The others weren’t satisfied with that much, though. They all felt the need to always be doing better. It was something Danni just didn’t understand about them.

Then again, to be fair, Danni had been more like them, once upon a time. Still not to the same extent, but a lot closer than she was now. When was it that she’d suddenly changed? When she’d realized that she didn’t need to hate Harry Potter for things that happened that were outside of his control? When she actually befriended Harry? When she learned that her aunt was in on the plan to have Harry murdered? When she learned that she’d never even technically been born in this world? Or maybe some combination of it all?

Danni wasn’t exactly sure. All she knew was that at some point, she’d realized that there were so many things that were more important than studying. After seeing some of the things that Danni had seen, it would be crazy if she even pretended for a moment that grades were still her highest priority. Right now, her priority was figuring out how to save Harry’s life, even if that meant she had to die in the process.

And if she really wanted to preserve her grades, then she still wouldn’t have to study at all. It would be as easy as peeking into the minds of her peers and pulling out their answers. Yes, that was technically cheating. But there was a murderous psychopath parading around the school pretending to be a teacher so that he could help kill one of Danni’s closest friends, so she’d already passed beyond the point where cheating actually seemed like a bad thing.

After a while of just lying on her bed, Danni knew that there was no way she was tired enough to be napping in the middle of the day. So she got up, and easily slipped past her peers, out into the corridor. If she could actually sneak into another house’s common room, then sneaking out of her own house was really no problem.

The only real problem was now that Danni was out in the hallway, she wasn’t quite sure where she wanted to go. There weren’t really a lot of options. Danni was plenty smart and pretty, and had a lot of people that probably thought of her as a friend, but she didn’t have anyone that she could really talk to.

Wait, that wasn’t true. Now that the entire golden trio was in on her secret, it would be only too easy to go and talk with them about whatever she felt like getting off of her chest. As long as she could keep pretending like there was nothing wrong whenever she looked at Harry, she’d be just fine.

It was almost funny to think about, really. Harry, who was the golden boy, always throwing himself headlong into danger if it meant protecting his friends, was now going to be the one to not sacrifice himself. Danni wondered if Harry would find that as amusing as she did. Probably. He had a pretty strange sense of humor sometimes.

There was a small flutter in Danni’s stomach at the thought that maybe, no matter how unlikely it seemed, Danni dying could make Harry sad. There was no denying that the two had been growing closer as they spent more time together. And now Danni was helping Harry to not get killed off. That was bound to make people come a little closer with each other.

But Danni clenched her hands into fists, and stood there resolutely. No way. There was no way that she could ever let herself fall down that rabbit hole. If she let herself believe, even for a second, that there was a possibility of something between Harry and her, then she’d have to just forget about it. All that Danni needed to focus on was keeping Harry alive. Everything else had to be shoved to the back burner. If Danni kept thinking about Harry, then she’d find it awfully hard to let herself die when the time came.

To help create the balance, with the whole ‘one must die and one must live’ thing, Danni could always just climb up to one of the towers of the school and fling herself out. But that wasn’t a guarantee that everything would be okay. That wouldn’t stop Voldemort from trying to murder Harry once he won the tournament.

Which is why Danni would need to keep going until she found the right time to die. Maybe it would be jumping in front of a fatal spell directed towards Harry. Maybe it would be shoving him out of the way of a large falling object. It definitely wouldn’t be killing Voldemort, since Danni wasn’t egotistical enough to think that she was that important in the grand scheme of thing.

The point was that it could be anything at any moment, and Danni had to keep her eyes peeled. Though she did figure that it would be alright to relax a little bit for right now, at least, since Harry wasn’t going to be killed until after the tournament. 

Danni was surprised to find that she’d wandered up to the seventh floor without even really thinking about it. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn’t even realized that her feet had started moving. This had to be a sign of some kind. Danni was here so that she could hang out with the golden trio, though Danni would really prefer to only see Harry.

No! She scolded herself. She wasn’t supposed to think about Harry. At all. Thinking about him would only lead to trouble for everyone involved. Besides that was the famous Harry Potter she was thinking about. He had loads of admirers. So many girls and guys who would eagerly pay a lot of money just to kiss the boy for even a moment.

Danni hesitantly stood in front of the portrait of the fat lady. She looked pretty good considering what had happened to her last year. Danni was tempted to just knock on the frame, and hope that there was someone in the common room who could let her in.

But Danni wasn’t a Gryffindor, so really, it would be unfair of her to expect to be allowed into the area that was sacred to the Gryffindors. She couldn’t imagine any of her friends letting other houses into their common room. It just wasn’t how things were done.

So Danni headed downstairs, to the first floor. That’s where the largest amount of common areas for students could be found. So if Harry wasn’t in the Gryffindor common room, and hopefully he wasn’t, then she should be able to find him somewhere around here.

It was all rather annoying that Danni had made that promise to Harry. The promise to never peek into his mind for even a second. If she hadn’t made that promise, then she’d easily be able to find his location. And while she still could do that, and it’s not like he’d ever know and it’s not like she’d be reading any of his actual thoughts, it would still be wrong, simply because a promise had been made.

Danni searched through the library, then the great hall, then the grand staircase, then the greens outside, and she couldn’t find him in any of those locations. Which meant, most likely, that he was up in his dorm room, and Danni felt a bit silly searching all around for him when he’d been there the entire time.

Maybe she was more tired than she’d thought? Whatever, though. It was no big deal. If she’d just let herself seek out nothing more than the presence of his mind, then she could’ve saved herself the trouble of traipsing all around the school like some kind of idiot. 

Danni decided to return to the Ravenclaw dorms. It’s not like she really had anything better to do. She could still sense all of her friends sitting around, working, but she didn’t really care whether they saw her or not. In fact, they didn’t even glance up from their notes for a second when Danni strolled in.

She rolled her eyes, and headed into the girls’ fourth year dorm room so that she could flop down on her bed, and draw the curtains closed around her. She pressed her face into her pillow, until she could no longer breath, and then she turned her head and let out a long sigh. 

Danni wasn’t entirely certain what she would’ve said to Harry even if she had been able to track him down, so maybe it was for the best that she hadn’t been able to find him. She would have looked pretty silly seeking him out and then having nothing to actually say to him.

So she just let out a frustrated groan, and peeled off her cape. They were stupid things anyways, always getting tripped over by the shorter students. Danni rolled onto her back, and crossed her arms over her chest indignantly. She was not that short, no matter what anyone else said. She was pretty average height. There were plenty of others in their fourth year at the moment who seemed to be on the short side.

Danni closed her eyes, and accidentally opened her mind up a little bit more than she’d meant to. She didn’t want to let in every arsehole in the vicinity who was thinking about anything. 

There were random flashes of facts from History of Magic, and people practicing their silent spells, and people practicing their normal spells out loud. There were a few murmurs that couldn’t be heard entirely, but some of them sounded angry while others sounded happy.

Danni bolted upright a moment later. Wait just a second. One of the thoughts that had been mixed in with the others in the onslaught wasn’t right. It was familiar, even though it had no right to be there. Danni knew that she was not just imagining things when she reached out searchingly, trying to find a particular mind.

There it was, clearly standing out amongst the other minds. It was too weird to think about, though. Because the mind she was feeling definitely belonged to her mother. The one that raised her, not the one that was a copy of the one who’d given birth to her. Man, that was rather confusing, wasn’t it?

But there was no reason for Danni to be able to feel her mother’s mind. There was no reason for her mother to be in Hogwarts. And as Danni put out some feelers, she knew for sure that her mother was nowhere on the grounds of the magical school. In fact, she was at home, reading a newspaper and talking with Danni’s father.

None of this was making any sense. Danni usually had trouble keeping connections that were more than a couple of floors away from her. And now she was reading her mother’s mind from almost a hundred miles away. That had to be impossible. Danni had never done anything like this before.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the connection to stay, while she let all of the others fall away. She didn’t care much about the random thoughts of her fellow students. Most of them weren’t really smart enough to be thinking about anything worthwhile.

 _“Sometimes I get a little worried, you know? Like what’s with this article? There’s no way that this makes any sense. Why would I find out that my daughter went missing via newspaper article rather than actually hearing from the school? We’ve got to go and talk to them about this. It’s just offensive, really.”_ And then there were lots of pictures of Danni growing up throughout the years, and a few of Jacob too.

Was the reason she could hear her mother’s thoughts because they centered around Danni? But surely there’d been other times before where her parents thought about her while she wasn’t home? It wasn’t making any sense. There was no reason to think that she’d suddenly grown any stronger and yet, she must’ve.

When Danni first came to Hogwarts when she was eleven, she’d been terrified out of her mind. The only thing that mollified her was the fact that her brother was also going to be there, going into his fifth year. But even that hadn’t been very helpful. Danni had been very scared that someone would find out about her even though her parents were always reminding her to never tell anybody.

Danni had kept reading her parents’ minds from the moment the train left the station, though it was only a few minutes later that the connection was too weak and then gone altogether. Jacob had wanted to sit with his friends but he didn’t want to leave Danni alone, so he ended up sitting with his little sister. He told her that she couldn’t just go peering into anyone’s heads, because that would be considered rude, even if they didn’t know it. But he did say that she could stay in his head for as long as they needed to.

She’d ended up spending that entire train ride focusing on her brother’s mind. She knew better than to dig too deep into his head, but it was nice to have a single place to focus on rather than every single student on the train clamoring for her attention. That was how Danni had learned that there was no way she could possibly be able to read the minds of her parents from all the way up here, and yet, that was undeniably what she was doing right now.

Danni got up, and began pacing back and forth across the dorm room, trying to think. She hadn’t done anything that could suddenly make her stronger, had she? Danni closed her eyes for a moment, and forced her mother’s voice out. She wasn’t in the mood to be listening to her mom at the moment. Though she did have the feeling that she’d be getting a letter soon enough asking how she is. 

A few minutes later, a girl popped into the dorm. She smiled at Danni. “Hey. It doesn’t look like you’re getting very much sleep.”

Danni sighed. “It’s hard to. I just can’t stop thinking, you know? Like I can’t shut my brain off?”

The girl nodded. “Oh, I get it. That’s like whenever I have a big test coming up, and I just can’t stop thinking about all of the information, because I’m always afraid that I’m going to get things wrong. And then once I’ve finally taken the test, I’m constantly thinking about all of the questions, and the things that I probably got totally wrong, or things that I suddenly remembered the right answer to.”

Danni nodded. “Yeah, I guess it’s something like that. Except right now I’m mostly thinking about what other people are thinking.”

The girl nodded sympathetically. “You think that people will see you as weak or lame because you got yourself trapped down there in the lake? I totally get it. But don’t worry. I promise that no one’s thinking of you like that.” _“All we can think about is how cool that experimental spell of yours is, and whether or not you’ll share it with us at some point.”_

Danni smiled. “Thanks. I think that there’s someone I need to talk to right now. I’ll talk to you later.” The girl nodded and watched Danni hurry off. It wasn’t until she was halfway down the hall that Danni even realized she wasn’t wearing any shoes. Oh well. She had places to be.


	53. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Angst between two dunderheads who don’t know how to communicate!

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all headed down to dinner with some trepidation. They weren’t sure they wanted to hear the announcement of the first task. What if Crouch Jr tried something in front of everyone, still pretending to be Moody? Or what if it turns out that they were wrong about the nature of the task? Or what if-? They really needed to stop worrying. It would probably be fine, at least for a bit.

As they walked, there was the sound of muffled thuds quickly approaching. The trio stopped and turned around. Danni was running towards them, and instead of stopping, she practically flew forward, smashing against Harry and knocking him to the ground. 

She pushed herself back up to her feet, hardly looking embarrassed. Ron gestured near the floor. “Where are your shoes?” Bare socks on these floors would explain why she hadn’t stopped, and instead, had just slid forward at some record breaking top speeds. 

Danni helped Harry to his feet, and he smiled gratefully. “So other than pushing me down, was there anything specific that made you need to come running over like that?”

Danni sighed. “Yes. I know that just getting you to survive through the first task sounds like something that we should do, but now I’m not so sure. I think that it would be best to just have you publicly drop out of the whole tournament now, before any damage can be done.”

Harry frowned. “What suddenly brought that on?”

Danni shrugged. “It just occurred to me that we’re going to have to figure out a way for you to drop out of the tournament at some point or another anyways, so it might just be for the best to have you do it now, before your life is in any danger at all. It seems like the safest option.”

Harry stopped himself from reaching forward and grabbing Danni’s hand. He just wanted her to understand what he was thinking. That he couldn’t throw away his pride in order to save himself. That he wasn’t going to let everyone know her secret if she didn’t want them to, and he wasn’t going to let anyone think that she was crazy, either. That he had to stand up to Voldemort for everyone’s sake, and not just for himself. That he wasn’t going to mess this all up. He wanted her to be able to get all of that, but she seemed to keep her word about staying out of his head.

Instead, he just shook his head. “It’s going to be okay. I think that if we all work together, we’ll be able to figure out a way to get through this, okay? After dinner tonight the official announcement about the first task is going to be made. Then I’m assuming that the competitors will be pulled aside separately to figure out who is going to fight each dragon. It’s going to be okay. Unless there’s something else that’s happened since I last saw you?” He looked at Danni’s face searchingly, but it didn’t reveal anything other than an overwhelming amount of exhaustion.  
Danni sighed. “No. There’s nothing else. I just don’t want to see you throwing yourself headfirst into danger.”

Harry smirked. “Why? Are you worried about me?”

Hermione took a step forward so she could smack Harry in the arm. Then she turned to Danni. “You don’t need to worry about him. He’s been running headfirst into danger for as long as I’ve known him, and I’ve yet to see him face anything dangerous enough to get past his thick skin.”

Danni chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I can believe that-” her face instantly went blank, and Harry turned to see Crouch Jr headed for the Great Hall. That guy really was causing a lot of problems, wasn’t he? Danni cleared her throat, calling Harry’s attention back to her. Just before he turned back, though, he noticed that Crouch Jr turned and walked down the corridor rather than going into the Great Hall. “Anyways, I just think that it’s a bad idea to go through with it.” She clenched her jaw. “Excuse me,” and she pattered off in the same direction that Crouch Jr had gone.

Harry turned back to his two best friends. “Should we go after her?”

Hermione raised one eyebrow. “Why? She looks like she could definitely use some more rest, so I’m not too worried about her skipping dinner, and she already knows the task so it’s not like-”

Harry shook his head. “No, that’s not why. Crouch Jr was walking down, and she went in the same direction. Like she was going to try and follow him or something. She could get seriously hurt if he catches her.”

Hermione glanced at Ron, who didn’t seem to have anything to say at the moment. She sighed. “Harry, this is a very large school. She could have been heading anywhere, and he could’ve been heading anywhere…” she trailed off in the middle of her sentence. “On second thought, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to make sure that she’s alright. She shouldn’t be going after sociopathic serial killers on her own.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because we’re definitely the best back up if a sociopathic killer tries to attack her. And he’d have to be pretty stupid to openly attack a student so close to the school. It would be pretty easy for someone to catch him in the act.”

Hermione jabbed her elbow into Ron’s side. “Either way, it would be best for us to just make sure that she’s going to be absolutely alright, okay? All we know is that he’s dangerous, and that he wants Harry dead. We can’t let him just wander around. In fact, it might even be for the best if we go and tail him as often as possible, anyways. So c’mon.”

The trio went after Danni, and ended up at the end of the corridor, unsure of which way to go. Ron and Hermione started whisper-arguing, and Harry shushed them. He could hear the very faint sound of voices coming from the other side of the wall. But there wasn’t anything on the other side of this wall, was there? Everyone else should be in the Great Hall right about now, and there’s no way that Danni could’ve gone all the way around to the main entrance, and then all the way around to the back of the building.

Then the wall started to creak. Instinctively, the trio ducked into the shadows that were falling everywhere. A section of the wall popped open like it was a door, and Crouch Jr came back inside. He had one hand tightly wrapped around Danni’s wrist, and was pulling her inside with him. “-told you. Now your aunt is pissed, and keeps trying to contact me, which would certainly blow my cover. How long since you took his place back? The lake? Before then? After?”

Danni tugged her arm away, but wasn’t even remotely successful at getting herself free. She tried to dig her feet down, but the floor was made of stone and she was only wearing socks on her feet. When she realized that it was fruitless to keep trying, she let her shoulders slump down, and let out a deep sigh. “Harry’s a good person. He doesn’t deserve to die.” 

Crouch Jr pulled Danni’s arm up, and since she was so small in comparison, he ended up lifting her enough that just the tips of her toes were brushing against the ground. “There’s nothing that you or anybody else can do to change the way that everything is going to play out. Your boy toy has a destiny, which he must fulfill.”

Danni snorted. “Let’s not pretend that you actually believe in that crap. Why do you even want you-know-who back? He’s a terrible person. You could do so much better. You could be so much better.”

Crouch pulled Danni up higher so that they were eye to eye. Harry wanted to dart out and interfere, but Hermione reached out one arm to hold him back, giving him a meaningful look. They needed to figure out what was going on, exactly. And they couldn’t let on to Crouch that they knew he wasn’t actually Moody. That would ruin everything for sure. 

The psychopath hissed in Danni’s face, and she closed her eyes and looked away to avoid getting any spittle on her. “You can’t honestly be so naive that you think that there’s any other outcome. Potter has to die. I know it. He knows it. The only one who doesn’t seem to get it is you!” He shook Danni back and forth like she was a ragdoll or something.

Danni used the momentum to reach down into the pocket of her robes and pull out her wand, which she jabbed into the underside of Crouch’s jaw. “You listen to me, you bastard. Your ugly fish faced loser of a boss is wrong. He doesn’t need Potter’s blood to bring himself back.”

Crouch snarled. “He knows that! He needs to blood to protect himself, and he’s going to get it! There’s nothing you can do to stop things from playing out the way that they’re meant to,” he coughed when Danni pressed her wand up harder. “This is what’s meant to happen. The prophecy says so!”

Harry glanced at his friends, and both of them just shrugged. He noticed that Ron and Hermione had also pulled out their wands, ready to jump out if they absolutely had to. They couldn’t let on to Crouch that they knew his real identity, but if it was an emergency, then they’d be willing to risk it. 

Danni shrugged. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that I never did believe in destiny.”

Crouch suddenly dropped Danni, taking her by surprise. He used to opportunity to wrap one hand around her neck, and lift her up like that. She dropped her wand in shock, and reached up with both arms to tug at the hand that was squeezing tightly around her. Harry wanted to jump out now, but Hermione shook her head.

“Listen to me, you little bitch. The only ones getting a happy ending here are the ones on the winning side. My side. What did you really expect to get out of this little chat?” He squeezed a bit tighter, and the Ravenclaw’s face started turning purple from lack of oxygen.

Danni coughed out, “Answers.” Crouch dropped her again, and she massaged her neck while coughing violently, and gasping for breath. She snatched her wand off the ground while she was bent over, and then straightened herself up. “I want to know why you don’t just grab Potter now. It was apparently easy enough to grab me, so why would he be any more challenging?”

Crouch sighed. “I don’t owe you shite, kid. Why don’t you just run along and keep your nose out of this? None of this has nothing to do with you.”

Danni gulped. “You don’t know how wrong you are.” She took a step closer, crowding the death eater in his space. “I want you to promise that once you’ve revived your precious leader, you’ll make sure that Harry lives.” Harry had to press a hand over his mouth to stop himself from saying anything out loud. Crouch scoffed, and Danni frowned. “Maybe I didn’t make myself sound clear enough. Harry will live, or you will die.” She held out her wand threateningly.

Crouch laughed. “Do you really think you have it in you to commit murder, kid? Do you know what murder means? It means feeling the moment between a life in front of you, and cold nothingness. Feeling the life ooze out of the person you’ve just sentenced to death.”

Danni’s eyes flared. “Do you really want to find out?”

Crouch held his hands up in mock surrender, though it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t intimidated by the girl who was probably less than half his size. “Sure thing, then. Potter can live. Because it’s definitely just that easy.”

Harry shook his head. What the hell did Danni think she was doing? Was she crazy? There’s no way that any bargain Crouch made would actually be kept. He was an insane murderer. He wanted to bring back to life one of the worst people ever known to have walked the Earth. He wanted Harry dead.

Danni suddenly stiffened, and her eyes widened. Harry furrowed his eyebrows, and wondered why she was suddenly acting scared when she’d seemed so cool throughout that entire conversation. She angled herself a bit, forcing to Crouch to angle himself as well. Now Crouch’s eyes weren’t going to be looking anywhere near the trio. Danni knew that they were there. Of course she did.

Danni cleared her throat. “Potter doesn’t even know who you really are. He doesn’t even know that I know who you really are. If you let him live, then all he’ll know is that Professor Moody saved his life, and he’ll be too grateful to even look any further into it. You’ll be perfectly safe. Your boss doesn’t ever have to know that it was you who helped him escape.”

Crouch leaned forward. “Why’re you so invested in matters that have nothing to do with you, no matter the outcome? You know that if Voldemort gets in control, your aunt and brother will keep you safe. And if he doesn’t, then you’ll continue to prance about merrily all the time. So what the bloody hell do you care about any of this? Huh? What?”

Danni sighed in defeat. “The truth is, I did used to hate Harry Potter. I thought that he was a horrible person, and that I didn’t need to bother with him. Then we crossed paths completely by accident, and thanks to him, I’ve learned more about myself than I ever would’ve been able to on my own. And one of the things I’ve learned…” her eyes flitted over to Harry’s hiding spot for just a second. “Well, one of the things I’ve learned is that he’s actually an incredible person. Terribly selfish and egotistical and rude, but also, when he learns that someone is worth caring about, he’ll do anything for them. He can be compassionate and caring and kind and protective. So I’ve learned that I…” she bit her lip nervously, and Crouch rolled his eyes.

“Whatever the hell you’re going to say, just say it now while I still have some semblance of patience left in me. Otherwise, forever hold your peace. Or however that’s supposed to go.”

Danni shrugged. “I want his life spared because I think that I may be in love with Harry Potter.”

The next look she shot over to the shadowy alcove was almost an apologetic one. Crouch was only silent for a moment before he started laughing so hard that he was practically wheezing. “In love with Harry Potter? Oh, that’s a good one! That’s real rich coming from you! Everyone knows how much you despise him. Your aunt always mentioned that as one of your ‘shining qualities’ or something. There’s no way you’re going to get me to believe that crap. No scurry off before I decide that I don’t care how highly your aunt thinks of you and I make your brother into an only child.”

Danni wrinkled up her nose. “Harry’s going to survive. I promise you that much. Because if he doesn’t, you’re going to be the one to regret it.” 

Crouch shoved aside Danni’s wand. “Why don’t you go back to the little kid’s table? If you stick around here, you might discover just how unpleasant adult business can be.” Then he pushed past Danni, and headed back to the Great Hall. “If you’re smart, you’ll hurry along, too. Wouldn’t want to miss any important announcements that might be made.”

Once he was gone, Danni rubbed one hand over her eyes, and that’s when Harry emerged. She didn’t look the slightest bit startled by his presence. He put his hands on his hips. “What the hell was that?”

Danni sighed tiredly. “I really don’t want to get into this with you.” 

“Did you know him before he came here? Another one of your death eater pals? Because he sounded awfully familiar with you.” Harry could feel his chest stinging. When Danni said she was in love with him, for just a second, he’d felt the strangest sensation run through his entire body. But then Crouch said that it wasn’t real, and of course it wasn’t real. How could it be when Danni had made it clear how much she hates Harry from the moment they’d first met. And now she was only trying to keep him alive because it was the right thing to do. No other reason. 

Danni clenched her jaw, looking hurt. “Where do you get off on yelling at me? What have I ever done besides try and help you? And when have I ever been anything but hurt because of my efforts?”

Ron and Hermione both glanced at each other, and even though Danni had to know they were there, they both instantly decided that they’d be better off just staying put where they were, even if it would mean that they’d have to miss dinner. 

Harry shook his head. “Well then I guess you’ve just learned how to effectively waste effort, because clearly, there was never any reason for you to ever do anything for me.”

The hurt look on Danni’s face disappeared. “Yeah, you’re right.” She pushed past Harry, and glanced at the alcove. “I feel sorry for the two of you, stuck with such a shite friend.” She glanced back at Harry. “I wish you the best of luck with getting through the tournament alive. I am so tired of going through all this with you. I thought that I was at least getting a friendship out of all of this, but I was wrong,” then she turned and stormed away.

Harry felt like someone had just slapped him in the face. He stood there and closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths. Losing one friend wasn’t the end of the world. It’s not like they’d ever really been friends in the first place, Danni had said so herself. And Harry was perfectly capable of stopping Crouch, winning the tournament, and stopping Voldemort without Danni’s help. Hopefully.


	54. Danni

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can’t have a story about teenagers without some good old fashioned angst every now and then, right? 
> 
> Also I think that a lot of Ravenclaws could be absent minded enough to just forget about their shoes haha

Danni didn’t care that she was missing dinner, and the ‘super important’ announcement about the first task. She just couldn’t stand the thought of going to the Great Hall and having to face Harry. Who the hell did he think he was? She’d been right all along, all the way back at the beginning. From the day she’d first met him she hadn’t liked a single thing about him. 

She confessed her love for Merlin’s sake, and then he just stood there and insulted her and yelled at her. It just wasn’t right. Why had she thought that she loved him? She must’ve snapped and gone momentarily crazy. Of course, she still wouldn’t want him to just be murdered, because that was something that no one deserved, but she certainly didn’t want to hang around with him anymore. And if she didn’t help him out with the tournament then he’d probably be able to lose just from his natural stupidity, so it would be a win-win.

Danni groaned, and punched her wall. She just growled at the pain in her hand. She wasn’t used to punching thing, and it looked like her knuckles were already bruising just from that one hit. She muttered a simple healing spell, and while it healed her knuckles, it didn’t help make her feel any better at all. 

The Ravenclaw went into the common room to begin pacing back and forth. She had the entire space to herself, since everyone else was off at dinner. After a while, she tired herself out, and just plopped down on the couch that was right in front of the fireplace. She crossed her arms over her chest petulantly. She could afford to look a bit childish, since there wasn’t anyone else around.

Then another thought occurred to Danni. Even if, by some Miracle, Harry didn’t end up in a position where he was going to die thanks to the tournament, wouldn’t the fact that only one of them could live still be in play? So his life would still be in danger (it was Harry bloody Potter, his life was always in danger). Which meant that now Danni had to think very carefully about whether she was going to help him survive. Because if she did, she’d be writing her own death certificate.

Would it still be worth it? Even though he was a major jerk and arsehole, would she still be willing to die for him? Danni groaned again. Why her? Why did she have to get saddled down with these life or death decisions? Why did she have to be born in an alternate universe? Or was it a parallel universe?

Not the point! The point was that it was all totally unfair. Harry thought that his own life was unfair, and while that was true, he wasn’t the one who had to choose between their lives.

Danni sighed. She had friends, obviously, but they weren’t really friends. Not in the way that Harry had Ron and Hermione and everyone else who adored him (despite his major jerkishness). And Harry was the one destined to take down Voldemort, which would mean the safety of thousands, maybe millions, of innocent lives.

Which meant that as much as Danni may personally hate Harry Potter, his death would cause more devastation. Of course, Danni knew that her parents (the ones who’d raised her) would be sad. And Jacob. He’d always proven to care about his little sister. And then there was Judy. Judy was just her aunt, and yet, in another life, Judy was her mother. And she even had the memories of that Judy. Of the one who’d given birth to Danni. How weird was that? Anyways, Judy would grieve as well.

But the few people who would be affected by Danni’s death were nothing compared to the potentially millions that could be affected by Harry’s death. It was horrible, but true. Harry’s life was worth more at this point. Which meant that, yes, Danni was still going to die for him. What other choice did she have?

Danni wondered for a moment about the what ifs of it all. What if she’d never learned that one of them would have to die? Would she still die for him then? What if she hadn’t told him that his death was planned out? Danni suddenly sat forward in her seat. What if she’d never met Harry Potter? 

Judy had said that one of them dying was inevitable as they’d grown so much closer than before. So if Danni had just never met that arrogant prick, would they have both been safe from death? At least until a reasonable age, that is. 

But there was no point in thinking about the what ifs. Thinking about what could have been wasn’t going to change what had happened, and what was going to happen in the future. 

Danni wanted to talk to Judy, but she wasn’t sure there was any way she could talk to the woman after sneaking out of the death eater camp with Jacob. Maybe she could try to contact Jacob? He’d always given Danni the best advice when they were younger. There was no reason to believe that he wouldn’t still be a mighty wise guy. Getting in touch with him could be a little tricky, though, since the last time she’d seen him, he’d been helping her defy the death eaters, and then come up with an ingenious plan to get her back into the school no problem. 

It was times like these that Danni wished the wizarding world wasn’t so offended by the thought of using muggle technology. A phone would be pretty handy right now, since Danni didn’t have any address she could use to send something by owl. She didn’t think that ‘possibly in that death eater camp’ would be descriptive enough. She wasn’t sure if owls even understood what a death eater camp was. If they did, it would be a lot easier to defeat them all, because they could just have their owls go to ‘deliver a letter’, and follow the owl to the camp.

Well, that didn’t help Danni right now. She wouldn’t want anyone else to accidentally intercept that letter and know that Jacob had been the one to help her escape. Well, that was assuming that they didn’t already know, and they hadn’t punished him in some horribly gruesome way. 

Danni shook her head to try and clear her mind of those kinds of thoughts. She didn’t want to even consider for a moment that Jacob had been forced to suffer because he’d chosen to help her.

Thinking of Jacob made Danni think of that meeting they’d had in the owlery. He’d been intent on bringing her with him, until she’d said that she needed to stay behind for Harry’s sake. He’d agreed to help her after that. They’d even swapped places! But why would he have changed his mind unless he’d seen how happy Harry made Danni? Didn’t that mean she loved him? 

“Nope!” Danni looked around in surprise when she realized that she’d just spoken aloud. What a pain. She could feel a mind coming closer. Danni didn’t care to delve in just the little bit that would be required to figure out who was coming. She didn’t care who was coming.

She knelt down in front of the fire place and pressed her hands against her face. The door to the common room swung open, and a seventh year named Allison walked in. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Danni. Apparently she hadn’t been expecting anyone else to be there.

After a moment, Allison rolled her eyes. “Thought I’d skip out on them going on about how awesome and incredible those champions are.” She scoffed. “Why wasn’t I good enough to be the champion?” She looked at Danni closer. “You’re not a muggle born, are you?”

It would be way too complicated to get into her entire history. She was a half blood, since her birth father had been a muggle and her birth mother had been a witch. But since she’d been brought to a parallel universe when she was a baby and- the point was that it was too complicated. So she simply shook her head. “No.”

Allison grinned. “Then you’ve probably never had any of this before.” She disappeared into the seventh year girls’ dorm room, then came back a minute later, holding a fag in her hand. She held it up triumphantly. “This stuff is incredible.”

Danni furrowed her eyebrows. “Why would I want to smoke? Doesn’t that give you lung cancer, or something?”

The older girl’s eyes lit up a little bit. “This isn’t a fag. This is way better.” She flicked her wand and the end started smoking. She took a long drag, then held it out towards Danni. “It’s not bad for you.” When Danni just stared at the foreign object, Allison shrugged, and took another drag.

Danni got up and went out into the hallway. She didn’t particularly care much about the woes of someone who’d been passed over by the goblet. She didn’t care much for anything that had to do with that bitchy cup. She glanced down at her hands, and shuddered, because for a moment, it almost felt like her hands were back to being in total agony. 

Danni closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply. She wanted to find Crouch. Talking to him earlier had been useless because Harry, Hermione, and Ron had all been sitting around as witnesses, or as potential victims, so Danni had needed to navigate the conversation very carefully. Without them nearby, though, anything could be done or said, no problem.

As she walked past the Great Hall, she could hear all of the loud chatter coming from the other side of the large doors. So they hadn’t gotten to the announcement portion of the meal yet. That was fine. Except for the fact that Crouch was in there, which meant that there was no way for Danni to get to him. If she tried to confront him in front of all those people, there’s no way he’d say anything incriminating. 

Danni shook her head and kept walking. A moment later, she shivered and realized that she’d walked right through a ghost. She was so used to always being able to feel when a person was nearby, but ghosts’ minds were a lot fainter, so Danni had almost forgotten the ghosts were even a thing. She looked up apologetically. “I’m so sorry, Grey Lady.”

The melancholy woman smiled gently. “It’s quite alright, dear. I’m used to people running into me. It happens pretty often.”

Danni nodded. “Oh. That’s too bad.” She peered up at the woman, who was hovering in place. She didn’t seem intent on going anywhere anytime soon. Danni cleared her throat. “So how are you? I haven’t seen you around very much lately.”

The woman shrugged. “Life goes on. Or I suppose, in my case, death goes on.” She looked at Danni. “It’s not often I see a student who looks as sad as I. What sorrows are plaguing you?”

Danni sighed, and leaned up against the wall. “Does it sound totally pathetic if I say that I’m having boy problems?”

The Grey Lady shook her head, and mimed leaning up against the wall next to Danni. “I’ve had plenty of boy problems myself, as you well know.” Back in her first year, when Danni was still getting used to the idea of being around so many people twenty-four seven, she didn’t always have the best control. Which is how she’d ended up accidentally reading the Grey Lady’s mind, and learning what sent the woman into the grave.

Danni frowned. “Yeah, in comparison to that, my problem is nothing.” But the ghost didn’t move, silently encouraging Danni to keep talking. “My problem is sort of the opposite of yours. You had a suitor who loved you, but you didn’t love him back. I’m the one who loves someone that doesn’t love me back. And when I made a confession of my feelings, he flipped out on me and acted like an even bigger toolbox than normal.”

The Grey Lady clicked her tongue sympathetically. “He didn’t believe you.”

Danni looked at the ghost in surprise. “I’m sorry?”

She smiled again. “I’ve been around this school for a while, and I’ve seen many students with many problems. And I was once a young girl too. He’s lashing out because he does not believe that your affections are real. He thinks it’ll be easier to cut you away completely than pretend to accept your ‘false’ feelings. I’m not saying that it’s logical. Most of the things that boys do are illogical. And if tries to hurt you in any way-”

Danni shook her head. “It’s not like that.” She peered at the woman curiously. “But why would he be angry?” She chuckled. “I mean, unless you’re trying to say that lo-” Her eyes widened, and she took a step away from the wall. “Wait a second- are you trying to say that he loves me back?”

The ghost shrugged. “I can’t say for sure, dear. I haven’t seen him around you at any point. But that’s my guess. I think that you should try telling him again before you decide that you’d be better off never having known him. And then, before you know it, something happens, and you never get the chance to tell him how you really feel.”

Danni looked at the Grey Lady curiously. “Is that what happened to you? There was someone you wanted to confess your feelings for?”

The ghost sighed. “I did not live on my own after running away from my mother. I was a foolish girl who thought that she knew everything in the world that she needed to know. I was certainly proven wrong about that. The man who’d taken me in was very kind. And I eventually found that I loved him. It’s why I could never return the Baron’s feelings. Because I had feelings for another. I made plans to confess my feelings. I was going to make a romantic dinner and sing him a song of love, and then give him a little kiss. It was going to be perfect.” She sighed. “That is the day that the Baron found me. I couldn’t even pretend for a moment that I returned his feelings, because my heart and mind were full of thoughts of someone else. He killed me, and I never got the chance to tell Emerett that I loved him.”

Danni couldn’t help looking sad on the ghost’s behalf. “That’s horrible!” She gulped. “Why don’t you talk to anyone from the other houses?”

She shrugged. “I would not speak to anybody, but I feel so guilty when I hear the name ‘Ravenclaw’, that I can’t help but want to assist the students. I never did get to go see her mother. She was on her deathbed, and I had still refused to see her. That’s something I’m going to have to live with forever. Well, die with forever, anyways. Don’t let time pass you before you get the chance. There’s never going to be a ‘right time’, so just go for it.”

Danni nodded. “Alright. I’m not even entirely sure that I believe that he could ever think of me as anything other than someone to mess around with, but I’ll go for it. What’s the worst that could happen? If I say nothing, then we’ll never even go back to being friends anyways. So this is probably the best that I can do.”

The Grey Lady smiled, looking a bit brighter this time. “I wish you luck, little Ravenclaw. And I hope that things do work out. You’re a good girl. You deserve to find your happiness,” she paused for a moment. “Just be careful. He already has a death sentence on his head.”

Danni’s eyes widened. “How do you know? I never said who it is.”

The Grey Lady looked amused by that. “People often ignore the ghost in the room. Or don’t see them. I’ve seen and heard plenty that goes on around here.” She looked at Danni piercingly. “Be careful for him, and be careful for yourself. I don’t have many that I’d consider to be friends, so I wouldn’t want to lose one of the few I’ve got.”

Danni smiled awkwardly. “But we barely know each other.”

The ghost shrugged. “That hardly matters to me. What’s important is all of the good that I can see inside of you. I hope that you never chance, Daniella Cobb. You are a good person. Now go.”

Danni laughed softly, and hurried off. She was going to find Harry, and make sure that if there had been some sort of miscommunication between them, it would be repaired. Because no matter what she told herself, and how often she scolded herself for it, she really had fallen in love with that hopeless prick.


	55. Harry

Once the first task had been announced (which came as a surprise to nobody other than maybe a few first years who still had no idea what was going on), that pretty much wrapped up everything for the meal. As everyone started to trickle out, the champions were requested to stay behind.

The four students exchanged a few nervous glances, but they all gathered in the front of the hall, where the adults were waiting. Dumbledore smiled comfortingly. “Now, there’s nothing to be concerned about here. We simply wanted to wish all of you the best of luck with the challenges that you are going to face. It won’t be easy, at any point, for any of you. If it were, it wouldn’t make for much of a competition. I hope that you all get plenty of rest.” He nodded once. “That’s all.”

Cedric, Fleur, Viktor, and the other teachers headed off, while Dumbledore motioned for Harry to stay behind. Once the sound of the door slamming shut had passed, Harry looked at the headmaster in confusion. “Is there something else, sir?”

Dumbledore sighed. “Harry, I must warn you that you’ve got to be careful. You will not be exempt from any of the challenges that the other champions shall find themselves facing.” He spoke in a soft voice. “If there were something I could do to get a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, then I would. But I’m afraid that it simply won’t be possible. And I cannot just go around tossing accusations at famous men. That would accomplish nothing.”

Harry frowned. “That’s fine. I’m sure that I’ll be able to handle this on my own.” He didn’t turn away, though. “Was there anything else, Professor?”

Dumbledore nodded slowly. “I was hoping to talk to you about Daniella Cobb.” He looked at Harry curiously. “Do you know much about her academic records?” Harry shook his head. “Well she’s always been a rather bright student. Passing every test, never missing an assignment. She’s a rather intelligent young woman.”

Harry wasn’t sure why he was being told this. “I can believe that, sir.”

The headmaster sighed. “Well, recently, her marks in every subject have been drastically plummeting down. We all know that she’s been through a lot more than anyone her age ever should, and we’ve given her some appropriate leeway for that. But there has to be a point where her behavior can no longer be excused. She’s going from near the top of the class to failing. We, of course, wish to put an end to that downwards spiral. So I was hoping that perhaps you could speak with her about my concerns?”

Harry wasn’t sure that he really wanted to get involved. Danni’s grades should be a private matter, involving nobody other than herself and the professors. It didn’t seem right to try and interfere. And how would he bring it up, anyways? Wouldn’t she wonder how he’d even known about her grades? And on top of that, Harry wasn’t sure that he really wanted to speak to her at all, about anything.

The Gryffindor shrugged. “I’m not sure that I’m really the best person for that. Maybe it would be best if you just have her professors speak with her individually? I’m not exactly an expert on top marks, after all.”

Dumbledore raised one eyebrow. “I believe that it would be easier for you to get through to Ms Cobb than myself or any of the other staff members. Is there some reason that might not be true?”

Harry thought of crouching in that little corner with Ron and Hermione, and listening as Danni pleaded for his life. And then she’d somehow crushed up something inside of him, and he still wasn’t sure exactly what had been damaged, when she hadn’t even used her words to cast a single spell against him. “We’re not quite as close as you seem to think, sir. I really don’t think that I should be the one to talk to her. She won’t listen to me better than anyone else. Believe me.”

The headmaster nodded, a small frown on his face. “Very well then, Harry. It’s probably best that you run along now. I have some serious thinking to do.”

Before Harry left, he couldn’t help asking another question that had been on his mind. “Why do you care?” At Dumbledore’s blank stare, he had to elaborate. “I mean, why do you care about her marks? I know loads of students who are failing classes. So why does she matter to you?” 

Dumbledore tilted his head and closed his eyes for a moment, like he was carefully thinking over the exact words he wanted to use. Finally, he settled on, “Because she matters to you, dear boy, and you’re going to need all the love you can get in the upcoming days.” Then he turned and swept out of the Great Hall, leaving Harry there to ponder that.

He walked out into the corridor after a few minutes of standing in awkward silence, and was startled when he saw Danni sitting on the floor, her back pressed up against the wall. She had a book resting on her outstretched legs, but her eyes didn’t seem to be able to focus on the words in front of her. Harry wondered why she was there, so even though he was angry with her, he cleared his throat to catch her attention.

Danni jerked back, clearly caught by surprise, and ended up slamming the back of her head into the stone wall behind her. She rubbed her head, then scrambled up when she spotted Harry, her book sliding off of her lap and onto the floor with a dull thud. Her eyes were wide. “Harry! Oh, I wasn’t expecting to see you right there! I wasn’t trying to talk to you about anything important, so I’m just going to go now.”

Harry didn’t even think, he just reached out to gently grab her arm, and pull her a bit closer. He gave her the kindest smile he could manage with all of the hurt still swirling about inside of him. “I didn’t realize that you were such a horrible liar.”

Danni sighed in defeat. “Alright, so maybe I was looking for you. At first I thought it was hopeless when I saw that everyone else had already left, but then I peeked in and saw the champions all standing there in all their glory, so I thought I’d just wait out here for you. Why did everyone else leave before you? Eh, doesn’t matter. I have something really important that I need to ask you, okay?” She took a deep breath, and clenched her hands into fists. “Harry, would you-”

“Are you really starting to fail your classes?” Harry internally winced at the bluntness of his question. He wasn’t sure why he’d even asked, except it was the first thing he could think of. All he knew was that he really didn’t want to hear Danni’s question. He didn’t want to hear her ask why he’d flipped out on her earlier, and he didn’t want to feel that crushing feeling in his chest ever again.

Danni blinked owlishly a few times, clearly thrown off by the sudden question. Then her voice came out sounding a bit meeker than normal. “How did you know about that? Have people been talking?”

Harry shook his head. “No. I was just wondering, because you’ve been through a lot, and it would be perfectly understandable if you weren’t working up to your usual standards quite yet.”

Danni gulped. “Oh. Well, I guess I sort of am. Please don’t tell anyone, though. I don’t want my reputation to be completely destroyed. Can you keep that between us?” Harry nodded, and the look of relief that spread across Danni’s face was instantaneous. She took another deep breath, then let it out halfway. She smiled softly. “I was just wondering if you still wanted any help with the tournament. If you do, I’m available.”

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and the calm of the moment was washed away. “Why would you want to help me? Wouldn’t that just be more wasted effort?”

Danni looked down at the ground. “It’s what friends do, right? They help each other out? Anyways, no matter what else is going on, I don’t think that you deserve to die just because you’re probably too stupid to be able to figure out any sort of solution to the tasks on your own.”

The Gryffindor nodded. “Sure. Because I, the person who’s at least scraping by in all my classes, is the stupid one compared to the person who’s failing.”

Danni frowned, but the look wasn’t full of anger, so much as irritation. “You better watch yourself, Potter. Or next thing you know, you won’t be finding any help from me, and then you’ll lose for sure.”

Harry suddenly let go of Danni’s arm as if it had burned him. He wasn’t idiotic enough to turn down any help he could get. It had been stupid when he’d turned down Hermione’s help in the beginning, and it would be stupid for him to turn down Danni right now. Turn down her help.

He knew that he needed every advantage that he could possibly get, and he wasn’t going to let his own stubbornness get in the way of winning. He spoke stiffly, making sure Danni knew that he wasn’t ready to be with her for any longer than he had to. “So what’re we going to do about the first task?”

Danni stared at Harry for a moment, and he realized that she was looking at his face, trying to figure out what he was feeling. He made sure that his face was perfectly blank. After a moment, she gave up, and took a few steps back. “I already know that you’re going to get the most difficult breed of dragon to face off against, the Hungarian Horntail. It’s a nasty creature, but since we already know that’s the one you’re going to get, you can start off your research focused solely on that, rather than looking into all of the dragons. But even that’s unnecessary, since I already know a spell or two you could use to whip those dragons into shape.”

Harry raised one eyebrow. “And you just happen to know spells for taming deadly dragons?”

Danni shrugged, a small smile on her face. “Apparently I do. What can I say? It’s a gift.” She cleared her throat. “The spells I know are pretty generic, so they won’t be aimed specifically for the Hungarian Horntail. But while you distract it with those spells, I can get into its head and find it’s weakest point. Then you’ll know where to aim for with a nice strong stunning spell or something.” She sighed. “It’s all going to be fine, Harry. If you really insist on going through with the tournament, then I’m going to make sure that you get through it in the most alive way possible, okay?”

Harry nodded. “Thanks.” Then he turned and walked away, since there didn’t seem to be anything else for the two of them to discuss. After he turned the corner and was about to start going up the stairs, he heard the pounding footsteps of someone running up to him, and he turned around. 

Danni was there, her face flushed slightly red. She cleared her throat. “I just… I don’t know what to… about earlier…” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, looking a bit frustrated. Before Harry could ask her what was up, she stood up on the tips of her toes, grabbed the back of Harry’s neck, and carefully pulled his head towards hers. She didn’t actually kiss him, just rested their foreheads together. She sighed. “I wasn’t making it up when I was talking to Crouch earlier.”

Harry couldn’t quite identify the light feeling that suddenly seemed to fill him up. “You weren’t?” And he almost cursed when he heard how hopeful he sounded in just those two words.

Danni shook her head. “Nope. I really do think that I… I’m in love with you.” She closed her eyes, and didn’t say anything, though her body looked like it was tensed to run away the moment Harry scoffed at her.

The Gryffindor only paused for a few moments to collect his thoughts. He couldn’t stop himself from asking another stupid question. “Why?”

Danni sighed softly, and then giggled. “I don’t know. You’re absolutely crazy most of the time, and you’re always a total prick. By all logical accounts, I shouldn’t like you even one bit.”

“Huh.”

The Ravenclaw finally opened her eyes and stared up at him. “Aren’t you going to say anything else?” Harry wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to say, and Danni let go of him and leaned back. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way about me, but could you at least say something before this gets super awkward and I start freaking out?”

Harry blinked a few times, and then realized that if he remained silent, Danni was going to walk away, and that heavy feeling in his stomach was back at the thought. He reached forward to take hold of her wrists, one in each hand. Danni tilted her head back to look at him, one eyebrow raised. He sighed. “You’re in love with me?”

Danni narrowed her eyes. “Can you say something that’s actually orginal now? Honestly, I thought that you were the smooth talker between us.”

Harry nodded. “So then would it be okay if I…?” he trailed off as he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Danni’s. 

She only stayed still for a moment before pulling away. She slid her hands up so that they were now just holding hands, and she stared up at him, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “Uh…” Her face paled a bit. “Is it okay if we don’t do that?” She tightened her grip of his hands. “Um, this is okay, I mean. Just not the kissing? Not for now?”

Harry wanted to ask about that. He wondered why she didn’t want to kiss when she’d been the one to say that she loved him. But it wasn’t worth pushing the matter, because just the weight of her hands in his felt nice. “Sure.” Then he realized that he still hadn’t really returned Danni’s sentiment. “Oh! Um, I don’t really know for sure, but when I think about us fighting, and then you not being in my life anymore, I feel a strange emptiness. I think that means that I love you too?”

Danni tilted her head. “I guess I owe the lovely Grey Lady a nice ‘thank-you’.” She took a deep breath. “And it’s really okay if we don’t snog? Maybe not for a really long time?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. That was my first kiss, though, just so you know. Even if it never happens again, you got my first.”

Danni smiled. “That’s surprisingly sweet.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “Whoa, hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I’m not sweet?” 

Danni rolled her eyes. “As sweet as a skunk.”

Harry pretended to look offended by that. “Hey, I happen to be an extremely nice guy.”

Danni snorted. “Yeah right. You’re a horrible person.”

Harry smirked. “If I’m such a horrible person, then why would you want me to live so badly?” Danni didn’t respond, but she didn’t look angry or anything. “I mean, I think it’s probably so that I’ll share my prize with you once I win the tournament, right?”

Danni’s face paled a bit, and she laughed nervously. “Yeah, that’s it.”

Harry frowned in concern. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Danni shook her head. “It’s nothing, I swear. I’m just totally freaked out. Am I actually going to be… dating the famous Harry Potter? I mean, think of all the girls who’ve sent you love letters and chocolates and hoped that somehow they’d get to be with the Chosen One. And out of all those girls, he was somehow stupid enough to choose me?”

Harry raised one eyebrow. “Can I hug you?” Danni nodded, so Harry pulled her into a hug. She wasn’t tall enough to rest her chin on his shoulder, so she had to lean back after a moment to be able to breath. “Wanna hang out tomorrow? To do something other than you dying or figuring out how to stop me from dying?”

Danni couldn’t fight back a smile. “Sounds like a date to me.” Harry accompanied Danni to the direction of the Ravenclaw dorms, and then he pressed a light kiss to the top of her head before parting ways and heading towards Gryffindor. There was a skip to his step and a goofy grin on his face the entire time.


	56. Danni

Danni stared at the book in front of her, but she wasn’t actually reading any words. How could she be expected to concentrate on something like history when she just confessed her feelings to Harry frickin’ Potter, and he confessed his in return? 

Then a sinking feeling ran through Danni’s stomach. Would it be cruel for her to date Harry? She’d just grow closer and closer with him, only for her to wind up dead someday. That wouldn’t be fair on Harry. But Danni was selfish sometimes, and she wanted to be able to enjoy the time she had left with the guy she was in love with. 

Danni jolted up when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she looked up to see that Harry was standing right there, speak of the devil. He grinned. “Didn’t mean to startle you. What are you working on?”

Danni closed the thick textbook that she hadn’t even really been reading from. “I was trying to study for history, but nothing was sticking. And it’s all your fault. You’re just a major distraction.”

Harry chuckled. “Come on, you deserve a break from all of this. Let’s go hang out somewhere fun.”

Danni arched one eyebrow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Harry. The library is a perfectly fun place to be.”

Harry leaned over so that he was leaning on the open table space next to Danni. “Just double checking- we are… dating now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then that means I can choose to take you on a date whenever I want.”

Danni snorted. “Don’t be so childish. I thought that you were the one who wanted me to get my grades back up. I can’t do that if I’m running around having fun, or whatever. And on top of that, I’m still trying to figure out how to save your arse in this tournament, in case you’d forgotten about that.”

Harry frowned. “I thought that we already have a game plan for the first task.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “We do, but there’s more after that. I don’t want to give away too much though, where anyone could hear. They might just try and copy our winning strategies. And besides that, I wouldn’t want you to start getting worried about all the stuff that isn’t happening quite yet.” 

Harry nodded understandingly, but he still didn’t move. “Okay, I get it. You’re definitely going to be my saving grace throughout the tournament (don’t tell Hermione I said that), and I do want you to be successful in school. But it’s already been two days, and we still haven’t hung out at all. I think we’ve hung out less than we did before we were dating.”

Danni quickly darted towards Harry and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips. Then she settled back in her seat with a satisfied look on her face. “No go bother somebody else. If I don’t pass the test that’s coming up, I won’t have any chance of passing for the year.”

Harry sighed overdramatically. “What does a guy have to do around here?”

Danni looked down at her textbook, then shoved her chair back and stood up. “Alright, what is it that you thought we could do that would be more fun?”

Harry grinned. “Come on, follow me.” Then he took Danni’s hand and pulled her out of the library. He paused out in the corridor. “Wait, just give me a second. I didn’t think you’d actually want to hang out, so I didn’t really think this through at all.”

Danni smiled fondly. “That sounds pretty pathetic when you say it like that.” She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before hugging Harry, even though she was still standing behind him.

He didn’t move at all, not wanting to shake her off. “We could go swimming in the lake?”

Danni wrinkled up her nose. “The one that I was stuck in for like an entire day but everyone else thinks I was stuck in for like a week? Try again.”

“We could pull some brooms out of the shed and play a few rounds of two person quidditch.”

Danni chuckled. “You’ll have to wait on that one so that I have time to read up on the rules first.”

Harry pulled away from the hug to take Danni’s hand again. “It’s not hard, I promise. Just fun.”

Danni nodded. “Alrighty then. Lead the way.” They went outside and grabbed brooms, and then made their way to the practice pitch. There was no one else out already so they had the place to themselves.

Harry was on his broom in seconds, but he noticed that Danni wasn’t having the same luck as him. He looked at her curiously. “Need some help there?”

Danni’s face flushed. “I can’t help it. I’ve never been a natural at this stupid sport.”

Harry landed back with his feet on the ground. “Sit behind me and hold on tightly.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Danni mumbled. But she did get onto the broom, and wrapped her arms around Harry’s stomach. “Wow, you’re surprisingly built. Too bad the robes always hide it.”

Harry chuckled. “It’s from this ‘stupid sport’. Apparently it’s actually really good at helping you build up your muscles and stuff. Anyways, remember what I said. Hang on tightly.”

The broom shot up into the air, and Danni instinctively squeezed her arms even tighter. She had to force herself to loosen up so that Harry would be able to breath properly. If he couldn’t breath, then they’d both be falling to their deaths. “How are we supposed to play if we’re on the same broom?”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe sometimes it’s just about enjoying the ride.”

Danni scoffed. “Don’t try and get all philosophical on me, Potter. It only makes you sound even more stupid.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t be calling your boyfriend stupid. That’s just not nice.”

Danni shivered. “Boyfriend, huh? I guess since we’re dating that does make you my boyfriend. And I guess that makes me your girlfriend.” She pouted. “I always thought that I’d end up being too short to be a girlfriend!”

Harry laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re pretty sexy.”

The Ravenclaw cleared her throat, clearly sounding uncomfortable. “About that… Harry, I don’t think that I want to do things. Like, ever. It wouldn’t be fair to you for us to keep going without me telling you that.”

Harry peered back at Danni, whose face was flushed red and hair was windblown. “Don’t be an idiot. We’re way too young for that kind of stuff anyways. And besides, I’d still want to be with you either way. As hard as it may be for you to believe, I can sometimes curb my horny tendencies.”

Danni sighed, and rested her chin on Harry’s shoulder. Sitting down, she was in the optimal position to be doing so. “So this is what you do for fun?” She looked around at the green and blues that were streaking past. Once she got over the fearful part- scared that they were both going to fall to their deaths from this height- she was able to appreciate how beautiful the sight was. It was very calming. Just the sound of wind whipping her hair back behind her head. “This is nice.”

When Harry chuckled, Danni could feel the vibrations running down his back. “It’s a lot more stressful when you’re in the middle of a quidditch game. Constantly looking out for anything that wants to smash you off your broom, and also trying to keep an eye out for a little tiny ball that moves very quickly. Of course, it’s not really all that stressful for me. I’m one of the best seekers in the school.”

“And you certainly don’t sound cocky about your abilities at all.” There was a soft smile on her face when she said that.

The Gryffindor shrugged. “Well, it’s true that I’m pretty good.” He craned his neck to peer back at Danni for a moment. “Hey, you should come to one of my games next year. Unfortunately, there aren’t any this year because of the tournament.”

Danni nodded. “I know. The actual game pitch is where they’re building the maze that you have to get through to finish the third task.”

After a little while longer, Harry gently landed back on the ground, and they went to put the broom away. When Danni’s legs wobbled a bit, because she was unused to going back and forth between flying and walking, Harry easily caught her before she could fall. “So? I was right about you needing to get away from the studying for a bit in order to do something fun?”

Danni shrugged. “I suppose that it was okay. I mean, I wouldn’t say that I’ve never had more fun before-”

Harry scooped her up and slung her over one shoulder, then began racing towards the school. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late for our afternoon meal. And your legs are too short for you to be going very fast.”

Danni screeched, and put up a token protest, but she didn’t actually do anything to stop Harry from carrying her away. After a moment, she relaxed, and sighed. “I’m pretty impressed. I didn’t think you’d be able to carry me for so long. I guess flying really has helped to build up your muscles.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s definitely part of it. I mean, it also doesn’t hurt that you’re as light as a feather.”

Danni could feel her face flush red. When they got closer to the front door, Harry carefully swung Danni back down onto the ground, and took her hand in his. They walked inside together, towards the Great Hall. As they walked, Danni stuck her hand into her pocket. It took her a moment, and then she realized that she couldn’t feel the familiar weight of her wand.

She paused and slipped her hand out of Harry’s. “I think I must’ve dropped my wand while we were flying around. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m an irresponsible hooligan. I’ll just run back and grab it quickly.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you.”

Danni shook her head. “If you’re late to the meal, a lot of people will notice. They’ll freak out and send out an entire search party or something. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes, I promise.” Then she stood on the tips of her toes to press a kiss against Harry’s cheek.

Several other students who had also been heading for lunch saw that, and they all stared with wide eyes as Danni hurried off, and Harry just stared after her for a minute, a goofy grin on his face. 

As soon as Danni stepped outside, someone grabbed her by the arm and swung her around so that she was pulled into a hug. She only tried to struggle for a moment before she heard a familiarly calming voice. “Hey, Danni, chill, it’s just me.”

Danni peered up cautiously. “Jacob? What the hell are you doing here?” She returned the hug.

Jacob looked around warily, then tugged Danni around the side of the building, so they wouldn’t be spotted if anyone happened to walk out through the front doors. “So my plan worked then, right?”

Danni nodded. “Yup. Everyone believes that I was trapped under that lake for a lot longer than I really was.”

Jacob peered down at his sister curiously. “You look uncharacteristically happy.” Then a knowing smile crossed his face. “Wait a second- You and Harry?” Danni gave a tiny nod of confirmation, and Jacob grinned widely. “That’s amazing, Danni! Do you know what this means? We might actually have a shot at saving the git after all.”

“So you don’t hate him anymore?”

Jacob leaned back against the stone wall and shrugged. “I’m not really sure, to be honest. I mean, I still hate him because it’s his fault that you-know-who was killed off all those years ago. But on the other hand, how could I possibly hate someone who makes my only sister so happy? I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Danni leaned back next to her brother. “Can I ask you something? Let’s just say that hypothetically, there was a situation that required you to choose between my life, or the life of Harry Potter. Who would you pick to save?”

Jacob frowned. “Of course I’d pick you. I want you to be happy, but preferably alive and happy. But we don’t even have to worry about it, because that’s never going to happen.”

“Right…” Danni worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Should she tell her brother that between her and Harry only one of them would be able to live? Or would that just guarantee Harry’s death? And besides that, Danni didn’t even know when her sacrifice was going to take place other than ‘soon’. But maybe that meant not for another twenty years? She wouldn’t want to ruin things now if there was still a lot of time left.

She shook her head. “Yeah, it was just a hypothetical.” She cleared her throat. “So why are you here? Just to make sure that I got out of that lake okay?”

Jacob shook his head. “True, that was important, but it’s not currently the most important thing I’ve got on my mind. It’s Judy. I’m worried about her. I think that she might be going crazy. Ever since you left the camp, she’s been muttering about all these things that never happened. Then she asked me to make sure that her kid is okay. And she doesn’t even have a kid!”

It was probably from all those memories that came from the Judy that was actually Danni’s mother. This world’s Judy had probably managed to handle them pretty well, but reliving all of it so that Danni could understand had probably not been great on her psyche. Seeing someone who looked and acted exactly like her going through all of that probably had Judy starting to think that maybe she’d lived it all herself. “So what do you expect me to do?”

Jacob took a deep breath, and reached up to run a hand through his hair. “Well, I was sort of hoping that since you were the last one to see her, you would know what’s going on, or that maybe you could talk some sense into her. I’m not asking you to move into the camp permanently, I just want my aunt back.” He looked so miserable, and Danni knew that her brother had already risked so much to help her.

As much as she wanted to turn him away, she couldn’t. Family was made for putting each other through the most awkward of times. And Danni couldn’t just leave her brother high and dry. She owed him plenty after everything he’d already done for her. So she heaved a large sigh, and nodded. “Alright. But you have to promise me that I’m not going to get stuck there.”

Jacob stood straight, and nodded eagerly. “I swear. I wouldn’t want you to be stuck there. Come on. Just come with me.”

Danni stood up straight as well, and frowned. “I can’t just leave right now. People would get suspicious. Come back tonight, and I’ll go with you then.”

Her brother shook his head stubbornly. “No, you have to come now. It’s important, Danni!”

Jacob shouldn’t be asking Danni to risk everything, even for their aunt. He would know that coming back at night would make the most sense. And he would know that going back to that camp would make Danni extremely uncomfortable. She took a step back, and found her back pressed up against the wall again. She focused on Jacob’s mind. 

_“Come on, you idiot. If you don’t come right now then there’s going to be serious trouble. Come on, what are you waiting for?”_

Danni’s frown deepened. “What’s really going on?”

Instead of responding with words, Jacob reached forward to grab Danni’s arm. Danni ducked beneath his reach, and rolled between his legs. As soon as she was standing, she began running back around the school, towards the front doors, as quickly as possible. 

She wished that she had her wand on her. Danni practically flew around the corner, and ended up barreling right into someone. Instead of them both falling, though, Danni was forced to a sudden halt. She looked up and saw that she’d almost run over the headmaster of the school. 

He looked at her curiously. “Ms Cobb? Is there a reason you’re running around outside instead of enjoying your lunch?” 

Danni didn’t take long to catch her breath. “I could ask the same of you, professor.” She glanced behind her nervously. She had no idea what was going on with her brother, and she didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out.

Despite the fact that Dumbledore wasn’t the one in the pair who could read minds, he seemed to understand that Danni didn’t want to stick around. “Perhaps it would be best to discuss this later, in the privacy of my office. For now, let us return to the Great Hall, and partake in the feast.”

Danni nodded gratefully. As they walked inside the school, she could feel eyes on her back, and she glanced behind her. There, over by the corner of the building, was Jacob, and he was holding a wand in each hand. There was a sinking feeling in Danni’s stomach as she realized that one of them was hers. She tried to figure how screwed she was this time, on like a scale of one to ten. Why couldn’t anything ever just play out smoothly?


	57. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I started writing this fic for a friend in real life named Danni, and she really wanted to be paired with Harry in the story, so even though it’s taken two years to get there, at least it’s finally gotten there hehe

Harry looked up as Danni walked into the Great Hall, several minutes after the food had already appeared on the tables. He motioned for her to come over to the Gryffindor table, and after a moment of hesitantly glancing at the Ravenclaw table, she did walk over to join Harry. She let out a long sigh once she was seated, and Harry looked at her with concern. “Is everything okay? You look a bit frazzled.” 

Danni bit her lip, then looked down at the plate in front of her. “Oh, I couldn’t find my wand.” She winced for a moment as though that response physically pained her. “Alright, that’s sort of a lie. I’ll talk to you more about it later, when we can have some privacy, okay?”

Harry nodded. He hoped that whatever had happened wasn’t too serious. Ron gave Danni a sympathetic look. “It’s tough when you don’t have a properly working wand, mate. Trust me, I know.”

Hermione smacked Ron in the arm. “It’s not the same thing at all. Your wand may have constantly malfunctioned, but at least you had one. It sounds like Danni’s lost hers completely.”

Danni nodded glumly. “Just don’t go around telling everyone, please? I mean, I don’t want them to start thinking that I’m even more irresponsible than I actually…” She trailed off, and got an intense look of concentration on her face. She suddenly stood up a moment later, and grabbed Harry’s arm to pull him up with her.

She tugged him out into the corridor, and Harry had no idea what was going on. Once they were in the hall, Harry stopped walking so that Danni was forced to a sudden stop as well. “What’s going on?”

Danni looked up at Harry nervously. “Well, it turns out that I didn’t just drop my wand like I thought. Or even if I did, someone else got to it first. Jacob, my brother, was out there, with my wand. But he was acting completely different than normal, and he wanted me to go with him. He said it was to visit my aunt, but now I don’t even know that.” She shivered. “So basically what I’m saying is that I’ve got no idea what’s going on right now, either.”

Harry pulled Danni into a hug. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. We’re going to figure this out. See? As long as we keep being honest with each other, we’ll be able to overcome any obstacles that come our way.”

Danni snorted. “You know, you’re way less of a jerk now than you were when I first met you. I never would have thought that you could change so much.”

Harry shrugged casually. “That’s character development for you.” He tilted his head, “Though just for the record, I’m still a complete jerk to everyone else. You’re just special.”

Danni awkwardly looked down at the ground. “So… here’s the thing…” She looked up at Harry, meeting his eyes with a look of determination. “I may know something else. Something very important and very serious. And I know that you just said that we shouldn’t keep secrets from each other, but it’s sort of something that I can’t tell you.”

Harry wasn’t sure what to do with that information. Why would she even bother telling him that she had a secret at all if she wasn’t going to tell him what it was? That just didn’t make any sense. But most things didn’t make sense when it came to things that happened in the wizarding world, so Harry decided that he would just have to let Danni keep her secret if that’s what she wanted to do. “If it’s not something that you want to tell me, then you don’t have to. I never want to do anything that’ll make you uncomfortable, okay?”

Danni sighed softly. “When you find out, you’re going to hate me,” she spoke in a tiny voice, like she wasn’t even sure she actually meant to say that out loud.

“I doubt that. You couldn’t do anything to make me hate you.” He paused for a minute. That wasn’t strictly true. Anyone could make anyone else hate them if they tried hard enough. What if her secret was that she was actually working with her aunt and those other death eaters. Harry mentally shook his head. That was impossible. He believed Danni when she said that she had nothing to do with them. “I’m sure that whatever it is, you have your reasons for keeping it a secret. I’m not going to promise that I won’t be mad, since I have no idea what the nature of this secret is, but I will promise that I’ll get over it.”

A large whoosh of breath was blown out of Danni’s mouth, and she looked like a large weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. “Thanks,” then her expression turned more playful. “I’d say that you’re the best, but I don’t think a good relationship can be built on lies.”

Harry rolled his eyes fondly. “The only lie is when you try to tell yourself that I’m not the more incredible person that you’ve ever met.”

Before they could continue going back and forth, they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both students turned and saw Dumbledore standing there, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “As big a fan as I am of young love, I’m afraid that I must insist you return to the Great Hall.”

Danni’s face flushed bright red, and Harry couldn’t help thinking that it made her look absolutely adorable. “Of course, professor.” She took a step towards the headmaster. “Er, can I ask you something? Were you able to get my wand back from the… intruder?”

Dumbledore shook his head, looking regretful. “I’m afraid he fled as soon as you reentered the building.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “I remember Jacob Cobb. He was always a good student, but he had some pretty unpopular opinions.” He shrugged. “Don’t worry, we’ll get back your wand, I promise. For now, we’ll find you a spare to carry around so you aren’t completely defenseless.”

Harry stood even with Danni, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. “No matter what, she’s not going to be completely defenseless. I would never let anything happen to her.”

Dumbledore smiled wryly. “I cannot say that I foresaw this. But I am pleased. I think that the two of you will be good for each other.” He gestured to the doors to the Great Hall. “Now get back before you miss your meal.”

The students hurried back into the hall, and walked over to the Gryffindor table, Danni still tucked next to Harry. Everyone in the room, whether they kept up their conversations or not, noticed. They could hardly believe it. The Harry Potter had gotten himself a girlfriend? One who most people in the school didn’t even recognize?

Danni could feel herself getting a little embarrassed by all of the attention that was being focused on her, but she could feel Harry’s arm supporting her, so she was able to stand tall, and walk towards the Gryffindor table like that was exactly where she was supposed to be going. 

Once they sat down, Danni couldn’t help letting out a soft giggle. Hermione looked back and forth between the two. “Where did you guys run off to in such a hurry?”

Harry shrugged. “We just needed to talk about a few things in private, that’s all.”

Danni nodded in agreement. Then she smiled. “I can’t help thinking that this is just so different than the first time I sat with you guys. I was wearing Gryffindor robes, and I felt like the most awkward person in the world. I did not belong at this table.”

Hermione frowned. “And we weren’t very nice to you then, either. So it’s definitely a good thing that we’re all growing up a bit. Anyways, let’s not talk about serious things right now. Let’s just enjoy our lunch.”

Ron looked at Hermione in mock surprise. “You sure that you don’t want to focus on some more homework or something? I mean, is this even the real Hermione talking right now?”

Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that Danni shifted uncomfortably in her seat at that comment. He knew that she must be thinking of her brother, who’d apparently acted completely different than normal. It had really freaked her out, understandably.

He grabbed her a hand to give a comforting squeeze, and she glanced up at him with a smile. Then she pulled her hand away so that she’d be able to eat, and the conversation turned to nothing more than small talk, and a few humorous anecdotes. 

While they were in the middle of eating and talking, Crouch Jr made a noisy entrance into the Great Hall. He stomped over to the table where all of the teachers dined, and leaned forwards to speak to them in a soft whisper.

Most of them were looking at him like they were just humoring him as they nodded in agreement to whatever he’d just said. He frowned, and slammed one hand against the table.

That was enough commotion that everyone sitting at the ends of their tables looked over to see what was going on. Harry nudged Danni, and nodded over to Crouch Jr. He was wondering if she would actually read the guy’s mind to find out what was going on.

She frowned, but did turn to face the professors. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Hermione looked at Harry with concern. “Did you just ask her to…?” And she gestured vaguely in the direction of the adults.

Harry shrugged. “Don’t tell me you’re not curious about what that’s all about.”

Ron frowned as well, but he didn’t actually say anything that could indicate him agreeing with either of his best friends. 

Up at the teacher’s table, Crouch Jr scowled at the other staff members, then stomped out of the Great Hall. Danni turned to look at Harry quickly. “Stay right here. I’m going to be right back.” Then she got up and ran out after the criminal.

Harry was tempted to get up and follow her, to make sure she was safe. Especially since she didn’t even have her wand with her at the moment. But he knew that she wouldn’t appreciate the gesture. Not when he’d been specifically asked to stay put. Maybe she thought he’d be too clumsy and noisy to follow the ‘professor’ stealthily. Or maybe she just needed to talk to him alone again. Either way, it wasn’t any of Harry’s business unless Danni wanted it to be, and she’d asked him to stay back.

Hermione tilted her head. “You’re just going to let her run off after a dangerous convict?”

Harry shrugged. “I know that it probably won’t make you feel any better, but Sirius Black was a supposedly dangerous convict, and everything turned out alright with him.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have a helpful mind reader at the time who has told you several times over how bloody dangerous this guy is, mate.”

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “She didn’t want me to go with her. I can’t just jump in and treat her like some damsel in distress. Not when she’s proven herself to be so clearly capable of taking care of herself. She’s smart. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing,” he bit his bottom lip. “I hope she knows what she’s doing.”

His friends both looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be treated like some damsel in distress, and maybe you’re interference won’t be necessary, but even the best witch or wizard could occasionally fumble, or be too slow to pull out their wand, or-” 

Harry jumped up. He’d almost forgotten already. How could Danni hope to protect herself if she didn’t even have a wand? And he’d just promised the headmaster that he’d make sure to watch Danni’s back. “I’ll be right back!” And he hurried out of the Great Hall again.

Once he was out in the corridor, Harry realized that he had no way of knowing which way his girlfriend had gone. He could run up to the Gryffindor dorms and grab his map, but something bad could’ve already happened by the time he learned where Danni was. 

Which meant that he’d just have to make a decision here, a decision that could change everything. Left of right? Which way would lead to Danni, and which way would lead to him running all around the school while something potentially horrible happened? Harry couldn’t help wishing, for just a moment, that he was the one who could read minds. Then he wouldn’t have any trouble finding Danni, since he could just search for the presence of her mind, or something.

Since there was really no way for him to know which way was the right one, and Harry wasn’t sure how long he’d already been standing around thinking, he just took a deep breath, and turned to the right. Before he could actually run off, though, he was grabbed by the arm and yanked back.

He whipped out his wand and turned around, finding himself face to face with a boy slightly taller and older looking than him, who seemed vaguely familiar for some reason. Something seemed a bit off about the stranger, though Harry couldn’t figure out why. The older boy looked around to make sure there was no one else nearby, then looked down on Harry angrily. “I’m not going to let you ruin everything.”

Then Harry realized that the boy wasn’t wearing robes of any sort. He was wearing frayed jeans and a tee shirt for a muggle rock band. Harry frowned suspiciously. “Who the bloody hell are you?”

Something about him really did look familiar. The stranger scowled. “That’s not important. What matters is that you can’t mess everything up. I tried to protect her for as long as I possibly could, but even I didn’t think I’d be able to protect her forever. The Dark Lord knows about her now, and he’s always been interested in collecting, or destroying, those with unique talents. All I can do now is convince her to join us. Otherwise, she’ll be killed for sure.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

The stranger sighed. He fished a wand out of his pocket, and dangled it in front of Harry. “This will be a fresh start. He won’t be able to see the spells that she used her previous wand for. You can’t keep her safe forever, though.”

When the older boy let go of the wand, Harry reached forward to catch the wooden stick out of instinct. Then it suddenly clicked in his head why this boy looked so familiar, and why he’d be talking about Danni’s wand. “You’re Jacob!” he shouted triumphantly. “But how the hell did you get into the school?”

Jacob pressed one finger over his lips and hissed for Harry to shut up. Then he spoke in an angry whisper. “You have no idea what the future has in store for you. But I do. And I know my sister’s future as well. I’m doing what I can to make things as bearable as possible. And the only reason I’m not stunning you and dragging your body away right now is because I know how much my sister loves you, and I want to let her stay happy for as long as she possibly can.” He turned and silently hurried away.

Harry was tempted to follow after the older boy, but knew that he wouldn’t be able to go after Danni. He headed in the opposite direction of Jacob, clutching a wand tightly in each hand. He hoped that whatever was going to happen between Danni and Crouch Jr, he wasn’t too late.


	58. Danni

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick reminder that I haven’t worked on this story in ages and I’m also too lazy to go back and actually reread what already exists, so please excuse the plot holes and such haha [This note was written in April, and I have been updating mostly consistently since then]

Crouch looked at Danni with a most unimpressed look on his face. “Things didn’t exactly end in your favor last time we spoke in private, if I can recall correctly. What do you want?”

Danni shrugged, and took a few steps closer. “Why do you want to postpone the first challenge of the tournament? It should be taking place in two days. Why do you need it to be later than that?”

Crouch narrowed his eyes. “You think you know things, girl, is that it? Well let me tell you that you don’t know shite. You’re just a stupid little brat who thinks that she can somehow change the world and save the life of her first love. But you can’t. Wanna know why? Because we don’t live in some pretty little fairytale world. The heroes don’t always win.” He bent over close enough that Danni could feel his hot breath on the side of her face, and it smelled like he hadn’t bothered brushing his teeth at all in weeks. “And even if they did, you’re not a hero. You’re a scared little kid.”

Danni clenched her hands into fists. “What did you do to my brother?”

The adult blinked in surprise. “What are you talking about? What’s happened to him?”

Danni stared at him aggressively, and decided that he was telling the truth. He had no more idea of what was going on anymore than she did. “Ugh, this is all getting too confusing!”

Then there were footsteps running down the hallway, and both turned to see Harry running in their direction. Crouch snickered. “Looks like your boyfriend is coming to the rescue. It’s not as thought you’re ever going to be capable of saving yourself for once. And I’ll take that as my cue to leave.” He turned and hurried away.

Instead of following after the adult, she patiently leaned back against the wall and waited for Harry to get there. He held out an unfamiliar wand. “Here, this is for you. Where’s the douchebag?”

“I’m looking at him.” Danni accepted the wand though, if only to look it over very thoroughly. “And what’s this supposed to be?”

Harry frowned. “It’s um, a new wand for you, I guess.” That didn’t inspire much confidence in Danni, and she made sure that her face got that feeling across. Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. Your brother gave it to me to give to you. He said that it would be a fresh start, so that no one could see any of the spells you’ve been doing with your previous wand. Not that I’m saying you did anything bad before!” he quickly added. “It’s just a precaution, I think. Just try it out, see how it feels.”

Danni was looking down at the slim piece of wood like it had just insulted her. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I just told you that there’s clearly something seriously wrong with my brother, and you think that the solution is to use a wand that he gave you? Where are your brains?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought that you’d want to be able to have a wand at least. I didn’t realize that you were so scared of little carved up sticks.” He started to reach for the wand. “I’ll just give this back to Jacob and tell him that it was all just some kind of misunderstanding or something, right?”

Danni jerked her wand hand back. “I didn’t say that I was scared.” She scowled. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to bait me into testing this thing out.” It was an annoying tactic, and yet it worked. If Danni wasn’t as smart as she was, she’d have quite possibly been placed into Gryffindor.

“Is it working?”

Danni shook her head. “Not at all. I’m not going to risk my neck on the chance that maybe my brother is currently himself when he certainly didn’t seem that way at all. If you want to know whether it works or not, then you can try it out.”

Harry snatched the wand. “Fine. But it wasn’t meant for me so it probably won’t work that well anyways.” Danni crossed her arms over her chest, so Harry just rolled his eyes and held the wand up, making sure to aim at the wall next to Danni rather than right at her. Just in case the wand decided to act wonky. “Lumos,” and after a short pause, the end of the wand lit up. He looked over at Danni. “It seems to be working just fine to me. Why are you so eager to believe that your brother isn’t really your brother at the moment?”

Danni sighed, and grabbed the wand. The light was extinguished as the tool exchanged hands. She muttered the same spell and it lit up again. “Nox,” then she lowered the wand. “What exactly did he think I was doing with my other wand that needs to remain hidden?”

That was a good question that Harry hadn’t thought of earlier. “I’m not sure. Maybe he thinks you found a spell for mind reading, but he wants to hide it so he won’t get in trouble?”

Danni shook her head. “I highly doubt it. There must be something else to it.” She tilted her head, and a familiar curious look crossed her face. “Remember the first time that we met? In the Great Hall after curfew?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. Do you think your brother knows that you tried to cheat with the house points and is protecting you from that?”

Danni shrugged. “I don’t know. But I just realized that you never actually said what you were doing up in the middle of the night.”

Harry smiled. “I woke up because I couldn’t sleep, and I happened to look at a map of mine that showed someone in the Great Hall. I was curious, so I went to go see what was going on. I never expected that to lead to, well, everything else.”

“If you’d known about all of the trouble you were going to go through, you would’ve just snuggled beneath your blankets and stayed there, wouldn’t you?”

Harry shook his head in protest. “That’s not true. I wouldn’t want to change anything. Well, maybe there’s a little bit that I would’ve done differently, but I still would’ve gone to meet you. Otherwise we never would’ve gotten to become such good friends, right?” He waggled his eyebrows. 

Danni bit her lip to hold in a smile. “Whatever. Anyways, you do know that I’m your girlfriend, not your bro sort of friend, right?”

Harry stroked his chin, despite having no facial hair. “Hmm, are you sure? I don’t think that I remember that ever actually happening. Are you just making it up to make me feel better?” 

Danni gently punched Harry in the shoulder. “You weirdo. Come on. Let’s go find somewhere to hang out. I don’t feel like going back to the Great Hall. I’m not really in the mood right now.”

Harry nodded. “Sure. The library is probably empty during lunch. Let’s go there. Or we could go to one of our common rooms if you want?”

“The library’s fine,” she muttered, so they both headed to the library. 

There really wasn’t anyone else in there, not even a librarian to stop kids from grabbing books and leaving with them. Because there were probably a few Ravenclaws that would stoop to stealing books if they were desperate enough and wanted to score highly on a test or something. And maybe a few Slytherins that would take them just to stop the Ravenclaws from being able to look through them. People were weird like that sometimes. Especially people who lived in Hogwarts. 

Danni grabbed Harry’s hand, and pulled him over to a table that didn’t have any books stacked up on it. She sat down, and motioned for him to sit in the seat next to her. Harry raised one eyebrow as he sat. “Alright, so now what should we do? Just sit here, or-?” He shrugged, looking awkward. 

Danni looked a bit awkward as well. “I don’t know. We’re just supposed to hang out or something. I’m not really sure what that entails. Usually when I’m hanging out with someone, I’m actually just doing homework with them or something. It’s not quite the same, obviously. What are we supposed to do when we’re hanging out?”

Harry shrugged. “Hell if I know. I haven’t exactly had lines of girlfriends.”

Danni pretended to look thoroughly shocked. “What? Are you trying to tell me that the Harry Potter who’s constantly had a parade of girls coming after him has never actually dated any of them?”

Harry shrugged. “None of them were the right one for me. And besides, I’m pretty sure that if someone as famous as me were ever dating someone, you’d have heard about it. I mean, by the end of the week I’m sure that everyone will know that we’re dating now. It’s just the way that things go sometimes, you know?” 

Danni rolled her eyes. “You are pretty full of yourself sometimes, aren’t you, Mr. Potter?”

Harry smiled. “This is boring. Let’s go do something more interesting. I could give you a tour of the school grounds on my broomstick. I promise that everything looks a hundred times prettier like that.”

Danni stood up. “Alright. That sounds like it could be fun. Though you are the one who suggested the library, so I do hope that this time you actually know what you want to do. Not that I don’t enjoy occasional bouts of just sitting around and doing nothing, but sometimes I need a little bit more stimulation than that to keep me from just falling asleep on you.”

Harry laughed, and they both left the library a few minutes later, ready to head down to the shed where all the brooms were kept. They couldn’t fly around on the pitch, but that didn’t mean that they could look at the rest of the school in all its glory. 

They carefully seated themselves on the broom, with Danni sitting in front of Harry, so close that her back was pressed up against his chest. She was short enough that sitting in front of him didn’t block his line of sight at all, so that wasn’t something that they’d have to worry about. Apparently there were other things to worry about, though. It took a few minutes of Harry hovering a few inches above the ground, but he was finally satisfied with the way that they were balanced, because that’s when he took off. 

Of course Danni had had to ride a broom during first year in their basic flying class, but she hadn’t been particularly fond of the idea of there being nothing between her and a horrible death but a piece of rickety old wood made by someone she’d never met before, and probably couldn’t trust to do their job right. After passing that class, she’d decided to never bother with brooms and flying again. She had running for exercise, and she couldn’t think of anything she’d need a flying broom for that she couldn’t just as easily use her wand to accomplish. 

So even though she’d agreed to Harry’s suggestion of a tour of the grounds on his broom, she found herself a bit more nervous than she’d thought she’d be. But that was completely ridiculous. Harry was a brilliant flier according to anyone who’d ever seen him play quidditch, and she could tell that his broom was an expensive new model rather than one of the school’s ratty old things. 

And she knew that she could trust Harry not to let her plunge to her death. It certainly wouldn’t do his reputation any good if people thought that he often went around dropping his girlfriends. And it would certainly be harder to get a second date with Danni if she was lying in little smashed up pieces on the ground. 

Darn. Even as she told herself not to think about all the worries that came with flying, her brain kept filling up with more morbid thoughts, and she couldn’t help it. 

But it was like Harry was the mind reader or something, because he moved his arms around so that he was holding Danni in a tight hug with one arm, while he kept the other on the broom. “Just trust me,” he said softly into her ear. “I promise that I won’t let you fall. At least not from too high up.”

“Dick,” Danni said under her breath. But she found herself smiling, and she took in a deep breath. She knew that she could trust Harry. It was a strange feeling, especially compared to how much she’d once hated him, but she knew she could trust him now. 

When she let that thought float around for a moment, she felt her stomach jolt up, and it wasn’t just from the motions of the broom. She trusted Harry to stop her from falling, and she knew that he trusted her too. She didn’t want to sound too egotistical, but she knew that Harry would miss her when she was gone. And she knew for sure that she’d be gone someday, probably sooner rather than later, because that was the only way to save Harry. 

She didn’t want to let Harry in on her morbid thoughts, because she already knew that he’d try to step forward and take the bullet, which was unacceptable because it would leave to thousands of Voldemort’s future victims still dying, which wasn’t fair to them. And Harry had already lived through such a harsh life, and he deserved to look forward to more than just dying as a teenager. 

And Danni didn’t want to ruin what little time they did have left together. That would only be cruel to both Harry and herself. So Danni forced herself to stop thinking about what the near future was going to hold, feeling grateful that she was the only mindreader around, and she settled back against Harry. 

She let herself be flown all over the school grounds, and Harry was right, everything did look much more beautiful like this. They were high enough up that the people wandering the grounds looked like little ants crawling around. The sky was bright blue, and overall, it was an absolutely gorgeous day out. 

Danni craned her head back to try and get a better look at Harry. “Hey, you actually had a good idea for once in your life!” She had to shout to be heard over the sound of the wind whipping past them. 

Harry grinned. “Are you implying that it wasn’t a good idea to ask you out?”

“To be fair, anyone in their right mind would want to ask me out!”

That prompted loud laughter from Harry. “Is that so? Yeah, you’re probably right! That just makes me the lucky one, huh?”

Shouting over the wind was a bit annoying, and the noise got in the way of their witty banter, so they both decided to just relax and ride around in silence for a while. It was so peaceful, since they couldn’t hear the noises of anyone on the ground, and to Danni, it felt like it was just the two of them there. It was like the rest of the world had just melted away, granting them privacy to be happy together. 

Harry landed them back on the ground. When Danni first stepped off the broom, her legs wobbled like she hadn’t walked on land in years. Luckily, Harry was standing there to easily catch her before she fell, and he helped her stay upright while she waited for her legs to remember how to function. 

As he locked his broom back in the shed, he looked over his shoulder at Danni. “So what did you think?”

She was very pleased to have gotten the reprieve from everything that was currently troubling her. But she couldn’t very well tell that to Harry. It was one thing for him to know that the tournament was meant to end in his death. It was an entire other thing for him to know how Danni was going to make sure the tournament ended instead. She grinned, hiding her worries. “That was actually quite lovely for a date. Thanks.” But a reprieve was all that it had been, and now it was time for both of them to return to reality.


	59. Harry

Harry found Danni skulking around in the hallways. It was a strange sight, because he wasn’t used to thinking of Danni as a skulky sort of person. “Hey, is everything alright with you?”

Danni turned, clearly startled by his presence. It was also strange for her to be startled by anyone coming up behind her, since she should be able to detect their mind getting closer even if she didn’t actually jump in to try and read it. She nodded once. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Though the way she was fidgeting with her hands and looking around nervously seemed to dispute that. She must’ve realized that she wasn’t fooling anyone, because her shoulders slumped down, and she let out a soft huff. “Alright, so maybe there’s a few things on my mind. Can you really blame me when everyone else’s minds are always on my mind?”

Harry wasn’t sure what Danni was trying to get out. But it sounded to him like she was experiencing some kind of existential crisis that had been caused by reading something from someone’s head that she wasn’t supposed to. “Wanna talk about it?” he offered. That was something people in relationships did, right? They talked about their problems with each other, right?”

From the way she looked up and down the corridor like she expected someone to jump out at them, Harry couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. But he was glad to hear that she was willing to talk when she nodded again. “Remember when I ran out during lunch because I wanted to find out what Crouch Jr was up to when he spoke with the other professors?” Harry made a soft noise of confirmation, but didn’t try to interrupt her. “He was thinking about how he wanted to postpone the first task.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “What? And you didn’t think of mentioning that earlier? No one’s said anything about a postponement which means that the others must not have agreed with his idea. But Jesus, you realize that the task is tomorrow, right?”

Danni reached up to pat the side of Harry’s shoulder once. “You know what, don’t even worry about it. The task is tomorrow and if no one’s mentioned putting it off until later, then no one is actually planning on doing that. I’m pretty sure that Crouch Sr would never stand for the idea of someone messing with the rules of the tournament. And we really do have a solid plan, right? We’re going to kick some dragon butt.”

“I still find it unfair that I get the most difficult one,” Harry couldn’t help grumbling.

For some reason the annoyance in his voice actually seemed to make Danni smile. He enjoyed seeing her smile, even if it was because of his misfortune. “It’s because you’ll look that much better than you win. You’ll get more points from it. None of this entire plan would work if you didn’t end up making it through as the winner.”

Harry nodded. “I know, I know. Won’t stop me from being annoyed about it, but I know. And I know for sure that with you working on my side, there’s no possible way that I’m going to lose.”

“That’s the spirit!” Danni said cheerfully, her previous nervousness completely gone. “I mean the worst case scenario is that we fail and the dragon tries to eat you or set you on fire, but I’m sure that there are safety nets in place to prevent that exact thing from happening.”

That wasn’t exactly the most comforting thing to hear the day before he was bound to go up against a dragon of all things. But the tone of Danni’s voice made it clear that she was teasing, and he decided to just let her have this one. There hadn’t been enough moments of levity lately, so he couldn’t fault Danni for doing her best to take them wherever she could get them. He’d been practicing the spells Danni had given him that would make the dragon a bit more docile so that Danni could swoop in and figure out it’s weaknesses. And Harry was pretty confident in his spell casting abilities, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. And like Danni said, there were probably fail safes lying around somewhere, because no one wanted to see the brutal slaughter of one of the champions. Then again, based off of what he knew about Crouch Jr, there was at least someone who probably wouldn’t mind seeing that. But since the madman had already decided to get Harry through the tournament, there wouldn’t be much point in cheering for him to be killed off in the first task. 

Danni grabbed the sleeve of Harry’s robe, and started pulling him down the hallway. He didn’t bother putting up any kind of fight, because he didn’t mind hanging out with Danni, no matter where they were. “So are you worried about tomorrow?” she asked quietly after they’d walked in silence for a few minutes. 

Of course he was worried about tomorrow. But he knew that he’d make it through the task, and that’s all that really mattered, wasn’t it? Besides, he didn’t want to frighten Danni by letting her think he was anything less than one hundred percent confident. She could easily see the truth for herself if she wanted to look, but she wouldn’t do that. “Nah, it’s going to be a cinch. There’s nothing for me to even be worried about.”

The look of relief on Danni’s face made the white lie worth it. Even though he’d be the one going up against the dragon, he wanted to make sure that Danni was alright. She’d been through a lot lately herself, and none of her traumas had been scripted by the school and the ministry of magic. He wasn’t sure whether that made it better or worse. He also knew that his own misfortunes this year were mostly scripted out by an insane death eater, and he wasn’t sure whether that was better or worse than random dumb luck. 

It didn’t really matter either way, since there was no way to control what they’d already been through, and there was no way to change what was clearly fated to happen. Whatever was going to meet Harry at the end of the tournament, once he made his way through the hedge maze, was sure to be all kinds of unpleasant. But he had to do it anyways. He wasn’t a coward he was just going to run away from trouble, and he wasn’t going to risk everyone else facing Crouch Jr’s wrath if he didn’t get his way.

But with Danni helping him along through everything, there was no reason to doubt her ability to help him with whatever his final trial would be. Surely she’d be eager to help him, in fact, since they were dating and she’d confessed to loving him. Though even if she was completely useless with aiding him in the tournament, Harry still wouldn’t be able to stop himself from loving her. 

He cleared his throat. “So what were you doing just skulking around in the hallways? You don’t really strike me as a skulker.”

Danni snorted. “Really? Are you sure that that word isn’t a little bit too big for your current vocabulary?”

Harry didn’t mind being insulted by his girlfriend. It was a friendly banter, very different from the insults they’d first traded in the beginning, and it comforted him to know that Danni wasn’t going to coddle him just because he was being thrown into a potentially deadly tournament by a guy who worked for the guy who’d killed Harry’s parents and almost killed him. Even Ron and Hermione were acting a bit distant, so it was nice to have Danni around, who brought him some semblance of normality.

Then again, it was hard to say for sure what was really normal for Danni. From the moment they’d first met, it had been one wild ride after another. Harry wasn’t even entirely sure what it looked like to see Danni at a calm and stable time. He was pretty sure that he’d like her just as much when she wasn’t constantly stressed out or throwing more problems at him, but he wouldn’t know for sure until after this whole tournament mess was over. He wished that he’d gotten to meet Danni earlier, maybe back in first year even, so that he could’ve had more time to get to know her. But waiting until afterwards wasn’t so bad. It meant that he knew how she reacted under pressure, and when things got tough, she still stuck around. 

Though Harry already knew that based on his past experiences, none of this would ever truly be over. Not until Voldemort was dead at least. And who knew when that could be? “Oh shut it, at least I’m not failing my classes,” he said fondly. Perhaps that was a little harsh, but Danni didn’t seem to be insulted. 

She just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be failing either if Hermione Granger did all of my homework for me all the time.”

Harry snorted. “So are you going to tell me what you were doing?”

Danni shook her head. “It’s probably best that I don’t. It has something to do with that secret that I can’t tell you about, and if I give you any details, then you might risk actually finding out more than I want you to know.” She tugged harder on his sleeve to urge him to hurry up.

“Alright, so you won’t tell me what you were doing out in the corridor like some kind of ghostly apparition. Will you at least tell me where we’re going now? Surely I have the right to know that kind of thing?”

Danni came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the hallway, and if quidditch hadn’t trained such good reflexes into Harry, he probably would’ve walked right into her back, and knocked her to the ground. “I’ve been thinking,” she started hesitantly.

Harry smiled. “I thought we’d already discussed this? You shouldn’t do anything that might strain your delicate little mind.”

Danni laughed, but she did let go of Harry’s sleeve. “I know, I know, but I need you to be serious for a moment.” Harry was tempted to make a joke about how impossible it was for him to be his godfather, but then he decided that it would be impolite, since Danni clearly didn’t want him joking around about whatever she was going to say next. “Have you ever wondered about me? Like why I’m so different that I can read minds?”

Harry shook his head. “I guess it never really occurred to me to think about it. We live in a world where almost anything is possible. Why should mind reading be impossible? And it’s a part of you either way, and I love all of you, so I never thought about breaking you down to your individual components. Why?”

Danni shrugged. “Sometimes I wonder. I mean, this isn’t the life that I’m supposed to be living. And it’s definitely not the life that you’re supposed to be living. You’re not even supposed to be living. You were dead!”

All the lingering lightheartedness in the air evaporated instantly. “What are you talking about?”

“Have you ever thought about the existence of parallel universes? Like imagine that there are infinite other worlds out there, but each of them has the tiniest thing different. Like in one world a child may live while in another he dies, but that one little difference could end up changing everything. Or a baby might be born in one world but not in another, and that would change everything too.”

Harry blinked a few times, and he couldn’t help wondering if maybe the stress of everything had gotten to Danni even worse than he’d thought. Because right now she sounded a bit like a crazy person, which was never a good way to start off a conversation. “I suppose that anything’s possible. But even if worlds like that exist, what difference does it make? If they’re parallel then that means that they’d never touch, right?”

Danni frowned. “I- sorry. I’m just tired, and I’m more worried about tomorrow than I’ve let on. Just ignore everything I just said. I have no idea what I’m talking about right now.”

It didn’t feel like she was just tiredly rambling. Of course what she was saying sounded totally insane, but the way she said it made it sound like it was something that she was very serious about, and it was something she’d put a lot of thought into. But why would she suddenly be thinking so much about parallel universes? Harry couldn’t figure it out. Like he’d said, even if they were real, they should have no effect on this universe, so it shouldn’t even matter. 

But Danni looked like she really did just want to forget all about it now, so he decided to let the issue lie. There wasn’t any harm in thinking about weird science things, and even if it was just because she was tired, Harry couldn’t really blame her. The idea of him being in the tournament was stressful enough, but knowing that there was some insidious plan attached to his victory made it much worse. And of course there was the secret that Danni wouldn’t tell him about, and he had the feeling that it had at least something to do with the tournament. 

He cleared his throat. “Alright, we’ll forget about it. Now where were you in the middle of kidnapping me to before you slammed on the brakes?”

Danni smiled, and she looked grateful that Harry was so willing to just let it go. “I wasn’t actually sure of where exactly I was going to take you. I just figured that anywhere had to be better than standing around in a dingy old hallway. It doesn’t exactly give off those romantic vibes, you know?”

“I’d offer to take you flying again, but I don’t really feel up to it.”

“That’s alright,” Danni muttered. “You should just focus on practicing those spells that I gave you so that you’ll be one hundred percent prepared to face a dragon. You’ve already gone up against worse, so I’m sure that this won’t be a big deal at all.”

Harry frowned. “I know that some of my adventures here at Hogwarts have been over publicized, but surely you don’t know of anything worse than a scary dragon, do you?”

Danni arched one eyebrow, and gave Harry a look like the answer to that should’ve been quite obvious. “You went up against You-Know-Who in your first year, you lost all the bones in your arm and were chased by an army of giant spiders in second year, you were chased by a serial killer, dementors, and a werewolf last year. All of that sounds pretty bad to me.”

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “How do you know about any of that stuff from last year? We used a-”

“Time turner, I know,” Danni waved her hand as though she were brushing aside the words. “I can read minds, remember? I don’t always feel comfortable with spying into other people’s heads, but sometimes it just can’t be helped, you know?”

“Huh.” Harry let his arms fall back by his sides. “I guess all the mysteries with you can simply be explained away by the fact you can read minds. It’s one of those things that even though I know about it, it’s still such a new concept to me that I forget how often you can use it.”

Danni shrugged. “Yeah, sorry. It is what it is, I suppose. Though I still wish that there was some kind of reasonable explanation for why I can even do it at all. I don’t…” she trailed off, and it looked like something important had just occurred to her. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of it before?” At Harry’s questioning look, she pressed her lips together flatly. “I can’t tell you about it,” she said softly. “But I think I just figured out something really important. I’ll have to leave Hogwarts, but I’ll wait until after the first task is over. I’m not just going to abandon you.”

Harry couldn’t help feeling left out. He wanted to know what was going on with Danni that she felt was so bad she couldn’t even tell him about it. And now she wanted to leave Hogwarts again? He knew that this was about more than just a trip down to Hogsmeade, and it frightened him that he didn’t know where Danni would be going or what she would be doing. And her only form of protection was the wand that her brother had given her, but Harry had yet to see her use it after he’d initially handed over, and he knew that she was hesitant to because she thought that there was something wrong with her brother. 

All of this added up to being bad news, but there wasn’t really anything Harry could do. He could follow Danni to wherever she planned on going, but that would break her trust. Clearly she trusted him right now, or she wouldn’t even tell him that she was going to take off at all. But she had told him, and as much as Harry was worried about her, he couldn’t just follow her like some kind of stalker on the off chance that he needed to jump in and rescue her.

Even with a wand that she was uncomfortable with, Danni was still a capable witch. Though if she was leaving Hogwarts, there was the additional problem of the trace, which would lead the ministry of magic to tracking her down and trying to figure out what she was up to. She wouldn’t even tell Harry her plans though, so he doubted that she’d share with a bunch of bureaucratic idiots. 

Instead of trying to explain any of his feelings on the matter, Harry just nodded once. “I know you won’t. You wouldn’t leave unless it was something necessary, and I know that you’ll tell me about it when the time is right.”

Danni looked like she didn’t want to agree to that at all, but then she did end up bowing her head down in a single nod. “Yeah, I promise. When the time is right, you’ll be the first to know about everything. For now, you just have to trust me to know what I’m doing.”

“I do trust you,” Harry told her. He was almost surprised to find that it was completely true. Of course he’d already known that he loved her, but that was different. Trusting someone meant putting your faith in them, and knowing that they won’t betray you even without any evidence to support that. “Why don’t we go outside and enjoy the day? I’m sure that we could both use a little bit of fresh air right now.”

Danni smiled and nodded. “Sure. Is it a date?”

Harry laughed. “Yeah, why not.”

“Way to sound enthusiastic about going on a date with me.” The pout on Danni’s face was so obviously fake. 

Harry reached out to take one of Danni’s hands, and then they headed towards the nearest exit, walking side by side. “I like spending time with you,” he said once they stepped out into the fresh air.

“I like spending time with you too,” Danni said, though there was an unmistakable hint of sadness in her words, like she thought she wasn’t going to be able to spend much more time with Harry. But he didn’t plan on dying anytime soon. He squeezed Danni’s hand, and hoped she understood the unspoken thought. She had nothing to be worried about at all, because he didn’t plan on going anywhere.


	60. Danni

It was difficult to shove past everyone else in the stands so that she could make it so the front row. She needed to be as close as possible to Harry’s dragon, and she didn’t want to risk a single thing going wrong. Not when it was actually Harry’s life on the line. Though she did wonder what Crouch Jr. would’ve done to ensure Harry’s victory if Danni hadn’t been in the picture. She decided that it wasn’t something worth giving much thought to at the moment. There were bigger priorities.

She’d been in the middle of working on important essay, to try avoid failing the classes that she was doing badly in, and she’d lost track of time. It wasn’t until she’d heard the stampeding of hundreds of people exiting the castle that it had occurred to her that she needed to get out there too. She couldn’t blame Harry for not getting her; he was probably plenty distracted by the thought of going up against an actual dragon.

Luckily, she’d only missed out on seeing the French chick, and the quidditch dude was halfway through his task. Neither of which mattered to Danni. She knew that Harry was going to win either way, but she’d really prefer to have him win like a badass, and not just by default. There were loud cheers all around her as Danni finally found a seat, but everyone else had decided to stand up and cheer, and Danni’s short stature meant that she had no idea what had just gone down on the field. 

But then the announcement for that Hufflepuff kid came, and everyone settled down to watch the first Hogwarts champion go about his task. Since it was safe to zone out for at least a few more minutes, but she didn’t want to get stuck reading hundreds of minds at once (it had happened before at a track event, and she still had nightmares about it sometimes), so she decided to get lost in her own thoughts instead. 

She couldn’t help wondering about the other Harry Potter. If he’d lived, would he have grown up to be exactly the same as this Harry? Would he have been as big a jerk, or would some twist of fate have made him into a caring and selfless person? There wasn’t much point in thinking about it, since that Harry was dead, but the thoughts just seemed to come in on their own.

That’s why Danni was kind of relieved when her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of loud cheering coming from all around her. She looked around, and saw that people were all standing and clapping and cheering for Diggory. Once they’d settled down, Harry’s name was called, and it was immediately followed by dead silence, which was broken by a few scattered cheers that seemed weak in comparison to the standing ovation that the other champions had received.

And then Harry walked out of the champions’ tent, and Danni sent a grin his way, even though she knew that he probably wouldn’t be able to see her in the middle of the crowd. Even after the dragon began stalking closer to him, he just stood there, and people began to murmur amongst themselves. They wondered if he’d snapped and was going to let the dragon kill him, or if there was some other plan. 

Once the dragon was close enough, Harry shot it with the spell that Danni had given him. He seemed to nail it first try, as the dragon slowed to a stop, and tilted its head. Even without human features, it seemed obvious that the poor thing was dazed. It wasn’t a normal stunning spell, since that would’ve been next to useless, but this one had worked, and Danni was glad. She’d look like a total idiot if her faulty spell got her boyfriend killed. 

Now that the dragon was just standing there, Danni knew that she was up. She stood up, and grabbed on tightly to the railing in front of her so that she could lean forward as far as possible without actually falling down into the field beneath her. She closed her eyes and focused everything in her on reading the dragon’s mind. She’d never done this before, but if she could read a painting and stupid cup, then she could read the dragon. 

Strangely, she couldn’t make out any clear words from the creature, but there were foreign feelings washing over her. Some of them were so strange that Danni couldn’t even begin to describe them, while others were painfully familiar. And in the background, there was a strange growl in some language that Danni had never heard before. But she had no time to feel bad for the thing, or to try and understand it, because it was already shaking off the spell, even as Harry carefully made his way over to the egg, hoping that the dragon would let him pass. It was his nearness that seemed to waken the dragon the most. 

Danni couldn’t figure out any specific weaknesses from the creature like this. It didn’t think in any coherent words, and whatever language it did think in was inaccessible to Danni. So she decided to go with plan b. She hadn’t be dumb enough to think that her first plan would automatically be an amazingly successful endeavor, so even though she was reluctant to do so, Danni knew what needed to be done to save Harry and help him win. Well, technically that was a lie. She’d assumed things would work out and that would be that. But since that wasn’t the case, she had to go for another unknown solution.

She let go of the railing and clenched her hands into fists so tight that she was pretty sure she drew blood, but she didn’t think about that. Danni focused everything she had on the dragon. She’d never tried to transmit thoughts or feelings to other people before, but why not? If there was some pathway open between her mind and someone else’s, then there was no reason for the data to only go one way, right?

Danni silently shoved every thought of tiredness at the dragon that she possibly could. The exhaustion of having stayed up too late debating the homework with her friends, the sleepiness that came with having hot tea right before bed, the weariness that came from knowing that each day she was just going through the motions, since she knew that she’d be dead before her next birthday anyways. 

She pushed it all towards the dragon. At first, there was some resistance, as the dragon was paying more attention to Harry. But Danni forced herself to bark at the dragon to just think of her, and it actually shocked the creature into listening. Danni was vaguely aware of her own body that felt close to passing out, as though she’d just been running all morning, and she pushed that feeling forwards too. 

And finally, just before Danni was ready to give up, the thoughts in the dragon’s mind began to slowly fade into background noise, the way thoughts always did when the owner of them was about to go to sleep. Danni kept pushing, but she tried to be a bit more gentle so that she wouldn’t shock the thing into waking up.

The moment that Danni succeeded, she was completely aware of her success. The only thing she could hear was the soft buzzing of a sleeping person. Then she slowly made her way back to herself, and realized that she was sprawled out across a couple of seats, and the people around her were all talking in worried voices. It was the strangest thing, but for just a moment, Danni felt like she was in the wrong body. She felt like she was supposed to fly away with her glorious wings and snarl and-

She shook aside those foreign thoughts, and decided that that was a problem for later. She’d never gotten lost like that before, but she’d also never had to go so far out of her own mind before. In the past, she’d always just let the others into her head. It felt much worse when she was the one forcing her way into someone’s head. But the fact that she was capable of it was something to be explored at some point. It could come in handy, though she wasn’t sure how it would affect other human beings.

Danni blinked a few times, then brushed aside the concerned students who were standing around her. “I’m fine,” she mumbled. “I think I was up too late last night.” She sat up, ignoring the way that it made her stomach roll around uncomfortably, and then she looked over at the field. The people around her looked at the same time, and for a moment, it seemed like everyone was holding their breaths. 

The dragon was lying curled up on the ground, and Harry was holding up a golden egg. It didn’t seem like anyone knew quite how to react, but Danni did. She leapt to her feet, and tried not to sway forwards when she was hit by a dizzy spell. She clapped, and cheered for her boyfriend.

Her enthusiasm seemed to be contagious, because soon the people around her were cheering too, and then it spread around to everyone in the stands. Of course there were still a few who remained still, probably having hoped to see Harry eaten by a dragon, but Danni didn’t care about them. All she cared about was that they’d won, and Harry didn’t seem to have a single scrape or bruise from the encounter. 

It took longer for the scores to be announced than it had for the first three champions. The judges were clearly confused about what exactly Harry had done. He’d cast an unfamiliar spell that sort of stunned the dragon, and then it had started to move around, and then it had just fallen asleep, allowing Harry to simply stroll over and scoop up his prize. 

In the end, Harry won a total of forty-one points, and according to the announcement that followed, it put him squarely into first place. Danni grinned so much that her cheeks hurt, but she couldn’t stop. She was so happy about the fact that they’d actually done it. They’d worked together and won the first task. And Danni already had a spell that would be perfect for getting Harry through the second task. Maybe they were going to get lucky, and all of this was going to actually be easy. It would be nice, since so few things in their lives had been easy lately, and they really did deserve a break. And something as small as the migraine that was slowly building up in Danni’s head wasn’t a bad price to pay for them to get through all of this. 

Word was passed around that there would be a big celebration in the Gryffindor house, where everyone who’d decided to unfairly hate Harry would admit that he was still cool, and they’d probably sneak in illegal booze, and then discover whatever clue was in the golden egg. Not that Harry needed the clue to get through the task, but the others in his house would probably find it odd if he just knew about everything that was going to happen in the tournament, so he’d have to at least try and puzzle his way through whatever vague clue had been left.

It wasn’t until way later that Danni got to actually see Harry in person again, and that was only because they’d both snuck out of their dorm rooms to meet up in the Great Hall. As soon as Harry appeared, Danni threw herself towards him and pulled him into a tight hug, which she followed up with a brief kiss before pulling back. “This is great! I knew you’d do well, but I didn’t think anyone would be obvious enough to put you into first place so quickly!”

Harry shrugged. “I wouldn’t have even been able to get through it without you. And in such a short amount of time. What did you do? I used the spell you gave me, but it just seemed like a stun spell. What did you do to make the dragon fall asleep?”

Danni had chugged down three different potions for curing headaches, and it had worked to push aside the pain that had nearly grown to be too overwhelming after the task. “I went to read the dragon’s mind, and it was crazy. I can’t even really say what it was like, but it was nothing like a person’s mind. It was incredible. But I couldn’t figure out any weak points, so I decided to try something new. I forced my way into its head and made sure that it couldn’t think about anything but sleeping. I feel bad now, and I hope that it’s okay, but you were the priority at the time.”

Harry smiled mischievously. “Only at the time?” 

Danni would never be able to tell him just how much of a priority he really was. She playfully shoved at his shoulder. “Well duh. You really think that I’m going to waste my time talking to you unless your life is in crazy danger or something?” There was a brief moment of silence, and then she said softly, “I’m really proud of you.”

Harry’s face was a bit redder than usual, though it was hard to say if it was from illegally obtained alcohol, or if it was from embarrassment. “You’re the one who everyone should be cheering for. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been a human shish kabob.”

“I’m sure you would’ve come up with something.” She sat down at the nearest table, not caring which house it belonged to. “I’m really glad that we’re solving all of this together. It’s for the best that we stick with each other, you know?”

Harry nodded. “I know.” Then he sat down too, and reached over to take one of Danni’s hands. “You’re one of the most incredible people that I’ve ever met before. Actually, you might just be the most incredible person I’ve ever met in my entire life. I can’t think of a single other person who would’ve been able to do what you can do. And I know that you already have the perfect solution to whatever’s next, right?” Danni nodded once, and Harry smiled. “You’re so perfect. I wish that I’d met you sooner.”

Danni tilted her head as she thought about the way she’d felt about Harry before they’d officially met, and then she shook her head. “No, I don’t think you do. I would’ve made you completely miserable. I hated you, you know. Maybe it doesn’t even really make sense, but I hated you before we’d ever even exchanged a single word with each other.”

Harry gently rubbed his thumb over the back of Danni’s hand. “And how do you feel about me now?” he whispered.

“I think you already know the answer to that,” she said quietly.

Harry smiled, and it was something beautiful in its honesty. So much of Harry’s life was just a mask to wear in front of everyone so that they’d think of him as something that he isn’t, so those glimpses of his real self that only Danni could see felt more intimate than anything else she could think of. He leaned closer until their foreheads were touching. “I’m not the mind reader,” he continued to whisper. “You’ll just have to tell me.”

A pleasant feeling settled over Danni’s shoulders. “I love you so much that it hurts me.”

Harry slowly shook his head. “I don’t want you to ever be hurt. Why don’t you let me make it better?”

It was obvious that the moment was meant to end with a kiss, but Danni suddenly pulled away and stood up. It wasn’t fair of her to date Harry and grow to love him more and more each day, and for him to grow more attached to her, when in the end she was going to be dead. And yet she was selfish enough to not let go of him. And it wasn’t because he was the ‘chosen one’ or because he was rich or famous. It was just because he was Harry, and that was enough for Danni.

But she couldn’t even ask Harry if he could be satisfied with only a few months, and to be honest, she was a bit afraid of what he might say if Danni were to ask. He could be a major jerk sometimes, but Danni had no doubt that he’d be the first one in line to martyr himself for someone he loved, and Danni just couldn’t let him do that. He was the one who needed to save the world, while Danni was just some virus that wasn’t even supposed to be here.

She gulped, and offered Harry an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I should really be going now if I want to get away before any of the professors catch me.” From the confused look on Harry’s face, it was obvious that he had no idea what Danni was talking about. “Remember, I told you that I’d be leaving Hogwarts after the first task?” She reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a scrap of parchment. “Here’s the spell I used to survive underwater. I’m almost certain that I’ll be back long before the second task, but just in case, take this.”

Even though she held out the paper, Harry just stared up at her. “You can’t leave now,” he said with a scratchy voice. “I need you, Danni. And not just for help with the tournament. How am I supposed to go around like everything’s normal when I won’t even know where you are or if you’re safe or not? Please don’t go. Just stay here. Whatever your secret is, you can tell me about it, and I won’t judge you, I promise. Whatever it is, I can help you. Please just stay.” He sounded more desperate than Danni had ever heard him before.

If this was any other situation, Danni knew that she’d be swayed by that factor alone, let alone the big green eyes that were starting to water up, and the devastated look on his face. He held out his hand, offering it to Danni so that she could take it and sit back down next to him. Instead of doing that, Danni shoved the paper scrap onto his palm, and gently closed his hand around it so that she knew he was holding it properly. “I’ll be back, I promise.” She leaned forward to cup Harry’s face, and give him a kiss, and she did her best to shove all her feelings into it so that he’d believe her.

When she went to step back, Harry reached up with his empty hand to take one of Danni’s wrists. “Please don’t go,” he whispered.

Danni bit her lip in indecision, but then she took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out. “I’ll be back,” she promised again. “Just say you’ll wait for me?” It was selfish to ask that of him, since any number of things could happen while she was gone, but she had to ask it anyways. Maybe some of Harry’s selfishness was rubbing off on her because of how much time they’d spent together lately. 

“I’d do anything for you,” Harry assured her. “But I shouldn’t have to do this. Why do you have to go?”

There was no explanation she could give that would make Harry feel any better right now. “I’ll tell you everything after the third task.” She knew that it was cheating a bit, since she would presumably be dead by then, but Harry couldn’t know that. And she was careful not to make it a promise, since she would hate to have to break one.

Harry nodded once. “Please stay safe. Whatever it is that you think you have to do, if it gets dangerous, promise me that you’ll come back immediately. I won’t let you leave if you don’t promise. I’ll alert everyone in the school so they know you left.”

That was an unfair ultimatum, but Danni couldn’t blame him. “I promise,” she said with a sad smile. He’d said to leave if it gets dangerous, but since it was going to be dangerous from the start, Danni figured that she was technically not going to be breaking that promise. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

He looked like he wanted to say more, but Danni knew that the longer she stuck around, the weaker her resolve would be. She grabbed her bag of clothes from where she’d dropped it when she saw Harry come in, and he looked pained to see it. Understandably so, since it implied that she’d be gone for a while. But she had three months before the next task, so Danni was pretty sure she’d be back on time. “I’ll be back before you know it.” And then she turned to leave the Great Hall, and walk in the direction of the castle’s front entrance. She was careful not to sniffle loudly until she was outside so that Harry wouldn’t hear the noise echoing around the empty hallway. She walked until she was past the edge of the Hogwarts barrier, and then she only paused for a moment before continuing forward.


	61. Harry

Even though he’d only known Danni for a few months, suddenly the school felt completely dull without her around. She’d always found a way to make the day more interesting, whether it was creepy brothers, disguised murderers, or an interesting tidbit of gossip accidentally read off of the top of someone’s mind. 

No matter what she did, she made Harry’s life much more enjoyable. With her not around, he felt like he never knew what he was doing. Moving through the day felt like moving through heavy molasses, and he he hated it. When had he let his entire life be defined by a single person? If he was a woman pining after a man in this way, the entire feminist movement would probably smack him upside the head. Hermione had already threatened to do that if he didn’t snap out of it soon. 

Danni had only been gone for four days now, but it felt like it may as well have been an eternity. Of course he’d been out of his mind with worry the last time she’d gone missing, but it felt different now. They were together, and she should’ve talked to him. She should’ve told him where she was going and what it was that she planned to do there. They should have been equals, but Danni had just decided to shut him out of everything that was happening. He knew that whatever her secret was, it had to be something big. 

Which was understandably concerning, since her previous big secrets had involved telepathy, being related to multiple death eaters, a deranged death eater disguised as one of their professors, and taking care of a dragon. And there were probably other things that Harry was forgetting about, too. They’d only known each other for a short amount of time, but it felt like a million different things had happened since they’d met. 

When he let out yet another lonely sigh, Ron did reach over and lightly smack the top of Harry’s head with the book he had been trying to read from. “Seriously mate, if you’re going to be this mopey about it, why didn’t you just go with her?”

Of course Harry had broken many school rules since he’d first set foot into Hogwarts. But something like running away from the school grounds without telling anyone where he’d be going seemed worse than the minor infractions that he’d committed. It hadn’t even occurred to him to offer his presence when Danni had announced that she would be leaving. 

Hermione rolled her eyes in Ron’s direction. “Of course he couldn’t just leave. Not only could it potentially be seen as his way of forfeiting from the tournament, but it’s really dangerous. Who knows what You-Know-Who would do if he realized that Harry was just wandering around outside of Hogwarts without any protection?”

While he was grateful to have actual legitimate reasons for not going with Danni, now that Ron had planted the idea in his head, he couldn’t help feeling guilty. Even if he had offered, Danni would have probably just given the same reasons as Hermione, but he still should have offered anyways, if only so that Danni could be fully aware of how much he cared about her and was willing to give up for her. So far he hadn’t showed her anything of the sort, and it wasn’t really fair. Danni had helped Harry out so much, and he hadn’t really done anything in return for her. 

Tired of moping around, at least in front of his well meaning friends who had no problem with explaining exactly where he went wrong with everything in his life, he abruptly got up and left the Gryffindor common room without another word to them. He knew that they would understand, and he would be able to see them later and talk to them then. 

At first he wasn’t sure of where exactly he wanted to go. Ideally, he’d just pop on down to the quidditch pitch and fly around for a while. But the pitch was off-limits thanks to the tournament, and flying around the rest of the school would only bring up memories of his flights with Danni, and right now, he needed to get his mind off of her. He’d never be able to stop moping if he couldn’t stop thinking about her. 

Without even realizing it, he ended up heading towards the green house. It wasn’t the worst place to be, especially if Neville was in there. He wasn’t the sort of person that Harry would usually see himself as associated with, but he found that strangely enough, their friendship worked out well for both of them. And Neville was a lot cooler than most of the other kids gave him credit for. 

He looked at the various greenhouses, and wondered which one was most likely to have his friend in it. Not that there was any guarantees that Neville was anywhere around here anyways, but it seemed like as good a guess as any. Neville really liked his herbology. After a few seconds of standing there awkwardly in indecision, Harry decided to go for a good old fashioned round of ‘eenie meenie miny moe’. He ended up pointing at greenhouse number three, and decided that he may as well check it out. 

Not that it would take very long to just poke his head into each greenhouse and call out his friend’s name, but Harry thought it was more fun to leave it to fate like this. Though he couldn’t help missing Danni, because she would’ve been able to just stand there and immediately know whether Neville was nearby or not, and exactly which greenhouse he was occupied in. 

Harry shook his head once, trying to shake away his thoughts of Danni. This whole excursion was meant to get his mind off of his girlfriend. And besides, he felt like it had been forever since he’d gotten the chance to just hang out with Neville, so there were multiple benefits to trying to find the other boy. 

After taking a deep breath in, and then slowly letting it out, Harry walked into greenhouse number three, though he was careful to not let the door slam shut behind him. The last time a kid had done that, some of the glass had cracked, and they’d wound up with detentions for like a month.

He peered around the long vines that blocked off some of the visibility in the greenhouse, and paused for a moment when he heard a soft shuffling noise. Harry walked further into the long glass room, and grinned when he saw Neville kneeling over a tray of plants that was resting on the floor. Maybe fate did favor Harry. “Hey, what are you working on?”

Neville put down the little trowel he’d been using to pat down the dirt, and peered up at Harry. He grinned at the sight of his friend. “Hey! How are you?” He stood up and wiped dirt off on the side of his pants, not caring about the stain that it left behind. “I was just trying to figure out which fertilizer the restless wormvules prefer.”

Harry blinked a few times, then nodded seriously, as if that statement made any kind of sense. “Sounds utterly fascinating.”

From the look on Neville’s face, it was clear that Harry wasn’t very good at hiding his lack of excitement about the matter. Neville shrugged, and he didn’t seem offended that Harry didn’t share his interests. “So how have you been? Did you figure out the clue to the next trial for the tournament?”

“Yeah. It involves going under water.”

Neville tilted his head thoughtfully. “I might be able to find a plant that will help you breath under there, for at least a short amount of time.”

Harry smiled, and nodded towards the greenhouse door to indicate they should walk and talk. Neville grabbed a cloth that had been hanging nearby, and wiped his hands off more thoroughly before motioning for Harry to lead the way. “That’s really nice of you, Neville, but I think that I should already be all set. I mean, I know that the task isn’t for a while yet anyways, but Danni conveniently already had the perfect spell on hand.”

That made curiosity rise up in Neville’s eyes. “Really? A spell for breathing underwater?”

“Yeah. It could be worse though. Even if she hadn’t given me that, and you hadn’t offered to look into any plants, I probably would’ve figured something out. Maybe I could go back to my muggle roots and find some scuba gear. I’d look very strange, but I don’t know of any rules saying that you have to use magic to complete each task.”

Neville’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean muggles already have a way to breath underwater? That’s really cool. I never understood why wizards are so opposed to the way that muggles do things, considering all the incredible things that muggles have invented. I think that sometimes, magical folk rely too much on their magic.”

Harry shrugged. “To be fair, modern day muggles rely just as much on their technology. But just imagine what it would be like for everyone if muggles and wizards just mixed together their ideas. They would be able to come up with all kinds of amazing things. Just think of how innovative it would be to mix magic and technology.”

“I didn’t realize you cared that much.” Even though there was a teasing tone to Neville’s voice, Harry knew that there was truth to it as well. 

He frowned. “You’re right. I didn’t care much before. I was an arrogant and selfish idiot who didn’t realize how much good there was in the world. I only cared about myself. But now my eyes have been opened up to all of the possibilities. I have a lot of people that I care about. And I know that it’s right to care about other people, ones who I don’t even know, because everyone deserves to be treated fairly and equally until they do something to prove otherwise. I should at least try to be a better person, right?”

Neville reached up to rest one hand on Harry’s shoulder. “No one thinks you’re a bad person,” he said assuringly. “You’re brave, and you stick up for the people you care about, and you walk around with your head held high even when there’s so many horrible things that have happened to you. Any lesser person would have completely crumbled under the weight of all your burdens. And maybe you were a bit selfish before, but you’ve always had the potential to change.” He pulled his hand away and cleared his throat, clearly a little embarrassed by how much emotion had been in his voice. “So did you come to see me for any particular reason?”

Harry shook his head. “To be honest, not really. I just realized that I haven’t spent a lot of time with you lately. And I’m a little bit lonely with Danni not around.”

Neville frowned. By now the entire school was aware of her abrupt disappearance. But unlike last time she’d vanished, there wasn’t much of a panic going on, because she’d left a note on all of her professor’s desks to explain that she was leaving of her own free will on personal business, and that no one else had known she’d been planning on taking off. “I can understand that,” he finally said. “I mean, I don’t have a girlfriend or anything, but I know that you two were close, so it can’t be easy for her to just take off like that. I don’t even want to think about what kind of punishment she’s going to get when she gets back…” he trailed off, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Harry arched one eyebrow. “What?”

“You said that Danni already found you a spell so that you’d be able to breath underwater. But she left the night of the first task, which wouldn’t have given you enough time to figure anything out, no offense. With the party going on and that annoying screeching sound that the egg made, it doesn’t seem like it would’ve been enough time. Somehow, she already knew, didn’t she?”

Harry shrugged. “It’s probably best if I don’t answer that. Plausible deniability and all that.”

Neville chuckled. “It’s alright, I understand.” He shrugged. “Did you want any help practicing that spell? I can think of a lot of kids who wouldn’t mind holding you underwater to see whether you’ll drown or not.”

“Yeah, I don’t know man. As much as that sounds like a fun time, I don’t think I’m really in the mood for it. And I still have a while to prepare anyways. I just really hope that Danni will be back before the task. Not because I can’t handle the spell without her or anything. I just really like having her around, and I think that if she’s there while I’m going through the tournament, it will make me feel a lot better. Kind of like a good luck charm or something.”

Neville tilted his head. “Do you have any idea of where she went?”

Unfortunately, that was something that Harry was completely clueless about. He wished that he’d done more before Danni had left. He could’ve demanded answers about where she was going and why, or demanded that she stay. And Neville had brought up a good point. There was no way that Danni was going to get away with running off without any kind of punishment. Harry had gotten all kinds of penalties for doing things that barely seemed to rank on the scale of wrongness, and running away from school was an entirely different issue. He just shook his head once instead of trying to explain his thoughts to his friend.

It seemed like Neville understood that Harry really wasn’t in the mood to be discussing Danni, because he just nodded towards the castle. “It’s almost lunch time, and I feel like I’m starving. Want to head back with me?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, sure.” They headed back to the castle together, though they stopped by the bathrooms first so that Neville could was his hands. Harry wasn’t even sure how anyone could manage to get so much dirt caked all over them. Then they walked into the Great Hall together, and headed over to the Gryffindor table. 

Ron and Hermione were already sitting in their usual spots, and they smiled when they spotted Harry and Neville walking in. The two boys sat down, and Ron looked over at them. “So I got this book of funny muggle jokes that I found on the floor, but Hermione says that it’s not funny, so I thought that I’d test them out on you, because personally, I found them to be utterly hilarious.”

Harry exchanged an amused look with Hermione, who looked like she really didn’t appreciate whatever jokes Ron had found. But he was interested to hear something that would cheer him up. “Alright, lay them on me.”

Ron grinned, then cleared his throat. “Okay. Why was King Arthur’s army too tired to fight? Because they had too many sleepless knights!” and then he wheezed out an obnoxiously loud laugh. 

Harry looked over at Hermione, who was in the middle of rolling her eyes. After a brief pause, Neville started laughing along with Ron. “That one was actually pretty good! Tell another!”

Hermione and Harry both groaned at the thought of being subjected to countless bad puns, and he silently cursed whoever had left that book lying around where Ron could find it. “I will literally pay you for that book so that you can’t tell anymore of those.”

Ron’s grin refused to fade. “Good luck with that. I’ve already memorized quite a few of them, and I don’t mind doing repeats.”

Hermione reached over to smack Ron in the arm. “So you can’t find a single drop of space in your brain to remember the important dates from the Goblin Rebellion of 1509 but you can memorize a whole bunch of bad jokes? If you just applied yourself, you’d be able to do so well in your classes- well, maybe not that well, but at least you could do better than you currently are.” She narrowed her eyes. “Pouting is not attractive.”

“Like you’d know anything about being attractive,” Ron grumbled. 

Hermione’s eyebrows shot up so far that it almost looked like they were going to slide right off the top of her forehead. “Excuse me?”

Ron held his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry, obviously I didn’t mean it like that, please don’t hurt me!”

While Ron and Hermione continued to bicker back and forth, Neville held up a small battered book, and handed it over to Harry. It was titled _1000 Puns, Jokes, and Funnies to Impress Your Friends_ by Seymore Celess. “I summoned it out of Ron’s bag,” he whispered conspiratorially.

Harry did his best to keep a straight face while he took the book and slipped it into his own bag. He’d have to burn it later just to be really sure that no one ever tried to use it again. He didn’t even care who it originally belonged to. Bad puns were just torture to listen to. 

In an attempt to get Hermione to be less annoyed with him, Ron quickly shouted. “Let me tell you more jokes! There have to be apology jokes or something, right?” Then he leaned over to start digging through his bag. He furrowed his eyebrows as he kept going, but couldn’t find the book. “I don’t know where it went.”

Hermione had a smug look on her face. “Maybe if you’d organized your bag when I’d told you to, this wouldn’t even be an issue.”

That’s when Neville started cracking up, and Harry couldn’t help following almost right behind. With both boys gasping for breath through their laughter, Ron narrowed his eyes. “Alright, what did you do?”

Harry held his hands up. “I didn’t do anything,” he answered truthfully.

Ron looked ready to lunge across the table and start patting Harry down for proof of his innocence or guilt. When Neville only laughed harder, Ron swiveled a suspicious look towards Neville. “So it was you!” he gasped out. Neville jumped to his feet, and took off running towards the nearest exit. Ron was quickly in pursuit. “I’m going to get you!”

Hermione looked down at the vacated seat next to her, then sighed. She jumped up as well, and started running after the other two boys. “Ron! You forgot your wand!”

Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Harry got up and followed his fellow Gryffindors out of the room. The other students that had been gathered in the Great Hall stared at them all as though they’d never seen a stranger sight before, but Harry didn’t care. It felt fun to just goof off with friends and act like total idiots together.


	62. Danni

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, when it’s been so long that you forgot where you planned on sending your character away so now you have to think of something and hope it works out xD

Danni clutched the strap of her bag tightly in one hand, and tried to remind herself for about about the thousandth time that she was doing the right thing for everyone. Maybe they would never really understand, but at least she could die knowing that she had saved the world. Or at least stopped the world from existing so that Harry would be able to save it. He was a much better hero than Danni anyways. The newspapers would rather right a story about a tall and dashing boy than an awkward girl who looked like a midget in comparison to many of her classmates. 

Not that she planned on dying here and now, of course. She had promised that she would be back at Hogwarts in time for the second task, and she intended on keeping that promise. Breaking promises was something Danni never wanted to do, which is why she’d refused to actually promise to tell Harry about everything. He was too much of a hero for his own good, and would try to take Danni’s place, even though he was the only one who could defeat Voldemort. It would be ridiculously stupid of him to essentially sacrifice thousands of lives just for Danni’s, but that’s exactly the kind of thing that he was likely to do. 

She gripped the strap of her bag even tighter, to the point where he knuckles were white, and she could feel the material digging into her hand. She didn’t think anyone could really blame her for feeling nervous. This wasn’t going to be a very pleasant conversation, and if she survived it, which she was mostly sure that she would, she’d be returning to Hogwarts where she’d probably be given detention for the next three years if she wasn’t immediately expelled. They probably didn’t appreciate having problem students in their school, and she’d been causing nothing but trouble all year long. 

Danni took a deep breath in and slowly let it out as she took another step forward, and then hesitated. She was right on the threshold of her destination, which had taken two entire weeks to track down. She could just turn around and walk away now, before anyone realized she was there, but then she’d have to suffer her punishment at school without getting any of the benefits of this outing.

Though a quick glance down at her grimy clothes and body served as a reminder that so far, there had been absolutely nothing beneficial about this outing. If it had mostly been traveling through muggle areas, that would’ve been hard enough, since they’d all question why a girl who clearly looked like she should be in school was just wandering around, and they’d probably call the authorities on her out of ‘good intentions’. But traveling through magical populations was even worse, because they were much more likely to realize she was magical herself, and assume she was some kind of a runaway. And while she had brought along the wand Jacob had given her, she had been afraid to use it. It could possibly have a trace on it, which would defeat the whole point of coming here. Or it could do something even worse, because the last time Danni had seen Jacob, he definitely hadn’t seemed to be all there. She was saving it strictly for emergencies only. 

She took another deep breath before deciding to just suck it up before she chickened out. She took one more step forward, and could feel the slight resistance of the many protective charms and shields that had been set up around the area. But she was allowed entrance, and a moment later, she was looking around a campsite full of tents and Death Eaters. 

As soon as she’d stepped through, several of the Death Eaters raced over to her, wands drawn, and angry looks on their faces. She held her hands up to show that she wasn’t holding her wand. “I just need to speak to Judy Marx. I’m her- niece.” She’d nearly stumbled over that last word as she tried to think about whether it was the right one or not. She doubted that Judy had told everyone else about her past and how Danni had come to be, but even if she had, technically Danni wasn’t related in any way to this Judy. Her real mother was long dead, and the parents who’d raised her also weren’t technically related to her. The whole multiple worlds thing could be pretty confusing.

None of them seemed to recognize Danni from her last visit, probably because she’d mostly stayed in Judy’s tent the entire time. Now she almost wished she’d been brave enough to venture further into the camp so that it wouldn’t look like a complete stranger had just stumbled across them. Though they should be aware that complete strangers shouldn’t even be able to wander past all of the enchantments they cast around the place to keep out intruders. 

One of them, a tall man with curly black hair, narrowed his eyes. “Are you now?”

Before Danni could answer, she heard a familiar voice calling out. “Denth! It’s okay, that’s my sister!” Jacob rushed over, panting for breath. It would appear that he’d dashed across the camp to get to Danni before anyone could hurt her. While that was sweet of him to do so, she still wasn’t sure what was up with him trying to get her to leave Hogwarts before. 

That was a problem for another time, though. She already had enough on her plate at the moment. “It’s true. Jacob’s my brother. Judy is our aunt. I just need to talk to her about something very important.”

The tall man- Denth- lowered his wand, but still looked wary to just let Danni wander around. “How did you find this place?”

“Well you guys certainly didn’t make it easy. I-”

“I told her where we are,” Jacob smoothly interrupted. “I was expecting her, but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure if she’d even show up before we moved on to a new location, and because all you guys gossip like nobody’s business, and I wanted her visit to be a surprise for Judy.”

The other death eater lowered her wand as well. “Fine. But if you cause any trouble at all while you’re here, don’t expect mercy from us. We all have families that we want to go home to, but you don’t see any of us endangering everything by sending out addressed invitations.”

Danni nodded once, but didn’t bother promising that she’d be on her best behavior, because she was pretty sure that that would only be seen as pathetic blubbering or sucking up, and she wanted to look like she at least had some idea of what she was doing. Then Jacob reached out to grab her arm, and quickly tug her away from the entrance to the camp. “What the bloody hell are you doing back here?” he hissed once they were a decent distance away from the trigger happy Death Eaters.

Danni couldn’t help giving him a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You’re the one who wanted me to come back the last time you were at Hogwarts.” Even as he furrowed his eyebrows, Danni got the bad feeling that she’d been right to be wary of him at the time, because it hadn’t even been him at all. “Were you at least the one who gave Harry the wand to give to me?”

Jacob reached out to grab Danni’s shoulders before she could start completely panicking. “Relax! That was me, you can even read my mind if you don’t believe me about it. I was just confused because after you were so insistent on staying, I didn’t think I’d ever see you stroll right in here by your own choice. It took me a bit by surprise, is all. And yes, I gave you that wand. It has no trace on it, so you should be protected from both the Ministry and You-Know-Who. I was just trying to look out for you.”

Danni closed her eyes for a moment just to delve into the surface of Jacob’s thoughts, and as far as she could tell, everything that he was saying was the truth. She sighed, and then suddenly leaned forward to pull her brother into a tight hug. “I was so worried. You really freaked me out, and I thought that there was something weird going on and that I’d have to add it to my already filled up checklist of things that I need to do, and I was too afraid to use the wand because I didn’t know what was up with it, so I’ve been borrowing from other people like crazy in all my classes and hoping that no one would notice and-”

Jacob laughed, and cut her off gently. “Hey, it’s okay. Feel free to use it or not use it as much as you want. I promise that nothing weird is just going to suddenly happen because you decide to use it. I just thought that it would protect you better to have it.”

Danni sighed, and felt stupid for getting so worked up about all of this. “So then why were you so insistent that I needed to come back with you immediately? You said you were worried about Judy, but then you got so pushy about it that I wasn’t sure what to think.”

“I’m really sorry for worrying you so much,” he said quietly while steering her over to the tents. “Part of it was a little concern for her. I don’t know what happened between you guys last time you were here, but she’s been acting strange ever since you left. Like she’s constantly walking around in a daze. But the other part is that I thought you would be safest here. Maybe I was wrong, maybe I was right, but I guess the real point is that I should’ve just let you be and stay wherever you want to be. Come on, Judy’s right in here. Maybe you can tell us both why you’re here.” He brushed aside the flap of the tent they’d walked towards, and stepped inside.

She wasn’t sure quite what to expect based on what Jacob had just said, but she was surprised to see Judy perched on a wooden crate, with a small wooden board resting across her lap so that there was a hard surface beneath the parchment that she was scribbling away on. Danni cleared her throat, and stepped away from the comfort of her brother so that she was standing right in front of her mother? aunt? vague connection to the Death Eaters? and cleared her throat. “Hey.”

Judy’s head snapped up so that she could see Danni, and her eyes widened with surprise and something else that Danni didn’t quite recognize. “What-?” she glanced back down at whatever she was in the middle of writing, and then groaned softly. “I really need to finish this. Give me five more minutes, and then we can talk.” Then she dipped her quill back into the inkwell, and continued with her writing. Jacob motioned for Danni to sit next to him on the small cot that was on the opposite side of the tent from the makeshift seat Judy was using. She finished up a few minutes later, waited a moment for the last of the ink to finish drying, then folded the parchment down to slip it into an envelope. She finally looked up, and seemed more in control of her emotions this time. “What are you doing here?”

Danni peered at Jacob out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t really think it would be fair to drag him into all of this. Then again, he was literally one of the bad guys, so maybe the emotional turmoil would just be karma against him? No, that would be too mean. And it would potentially result in Jacob just killing Harry himself to be on the safe side, so it wasn’t worth the risk. Which meant that she was going to have to think carefully about everything she was going to say. “It’s about my gift.”

Jacob reached out to put a hand on Danni’s shoulder. “Is something wrong? Unexplainable headaches or nosebleeds or anything?”

“No, why would you think that?”

He shrugged. “I’ve read books, and in them the people with unnatural powers who exert themselves too much wind up getting headaches and nosebleeds. I dunno. I was just taking a guess.”

Danni smiled, and shook her head. “No, it’s not like that. There’s nothing really wrong with my gift, or me using it, or anything like that.” She could always tell the story of the goblet some other time if she really wanted to worry them. “Well, I guess I did get a bit of a headache and a dizzy spell from the dragon,” she said thoughtfully.

The looks on Judy and Jacob’s faces matched so perfectly that it was quite obvious they were related. “Dragon? What are you talking about?”

Danni grinned, eager to share her accomplishment with her family members. “The first trial at the tournament involved Harry stealing an egg from a dragon, and he got the hardest one, so I decided to help him out. I was actually able to get into the dragon’s head and make it fall asleep. Isn’t that incredible?”

Of course that only led to a bombardment of questions, but Danni didn’t mind, because while she knew that her gift was useful and unusual, she didn’t often get the chance to describe her victories to an adoring crowd. They seemed so genuinely in awe of Danni’s ability, so she made the whole thing sound far more fantastical than it had actually been.

When every single question and detail about the dragon story had finally been exhausted, Danni yawned, and then looked over at her brother. “Do you have any food you could spare? I feel like I’m starving right now.”

Jacob nodded as he stood up, and stretched his arms up over his head. “Sure. Good thing you’re not too picky because we don’t exactly have a gourmet chef on retainer, but you won’t starve to death while you’re here, so that’s a good thing. Don’t say anything else until I get back!” Then he rushed out of the tent, leaving Danni to question why he’d ever joined the Death Eaters when he clearly had a much different temperament than the rest of them. 

As soon as he was gone, Danni turned to look at Judy with the most serious expression she could muster. “I need your help. I have to know how I got these powers. You must have more memories of my mother if you took all of them from her. I know you probably edited things to show me the relevant stuff, but you might not have realized what I would consider relevant could be different from what you think is. I need to know if I could always do this, or if it only started once I got to this world, for one thing.”

Judy shrugged. “You were just a baby. All of the memories from that time are before you were even old enough to talk, since your father took you away when you were still so young. And you were probably too frightened to say anything when your mother found you and brought you here instead. So there’s no way of knowing if you’ve always been able to do this or not. I’m sorry.”

She really did look sorry about it, and Danni understand the reasoning, but that didn’t stop it from being disappointed. She just wanted to know who she was, and somehow, even after learning everything about her real parents and where she was from, she still felt like she was a complete stranger to herself. “Can I at least look at some different memories? Ones from my real mom?”

Judy hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think that that’s such a good idea. You can’t live stuck in the past forever. All you can do is move forward and hope that you’re doing the right thing.” _“Some things are too dangerous for you to know.”_

Danni furrowed her eyebrows at the stray thought. “What could be so dangerous about my mom’s memories?”

Judy clenched her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. “I have you what you needed to know in order to understand the circumstances of your life, and that’s that. Don’t forget that it took two years for your mom to find you after you’d been snatched away by your father. And don’t forget that a decent amount of time passed before I did what I had to do. She trusted me with her memories, and I’m not going to betray that trust, no matter how she may have betrayed me.” _“And I don’t have enough time or energy to doctor all of those memories, especially on such short notice, so please just back off. You don’t even understand what it is that you’re asking for.”_

Danni’s eyes widened, and she got to her feet so that she could take a couple steps back, in the direction of the tent entrance. “You changed the memories that you showed me? Why would you do that? What the hell is going on?”

The scowl on Judy’s face was truly ferocious. “Stay the hell out of my head,” she snarled. “No matter how annoying you get, I’m not showing you anymore memories. Be grateful for the ones that I already let you see, because I didn’t have to do that. I thought it would bring you peace to know the truth. If I’d known it would only confuse you, I would never have let you know about any of it. You have to understand that I’m only doing what’s best for you. That’s all I’ve ever done.”

Somehow that was harder to believe when it came from someone who’d just admitted to lying about something so crucial. “I just want to know who I am,” she said softly. She knew if she started yelling, it wouldn’t accomplish anything. “Don’t I deserve to at least know that much? I’m going to-” she cut herself off before she could confess to the fact that she planned on dying to make sure that Harry could live. “If you can’t help me with this, then I’ll figure it out on my own.”

“How?”

Danni hadn’t really thought that far ahead, because she’d had no reason to think that Judy would be so uncooperative with her. “I’m not sure.” Even as she said that, she realized that she could actually just see what had happened for herself. She’d learned from her experience with the dragon that she could actually get into other people's’ heads, so why couldn’t that include her own? She’d been pretty young at the time, but she had to still have some memories of her life before coming here, right? She had been old enough to talk and feel confusion and fear so actually, the fact that she couldn’t remember anything from back then, not even the slightest snippet, seemed strange. “I should probably just go, if you’re not going to be able to help me.”

Of course Jacob walked in right as she said that, and he looked back and forth between his sister and his aunt in confusion. “What’s going on? Why are you going?” He held out the paper plate he’d brought that had a sandwich on it.

Danni’s stomach rumbled loudly at the sight of the food, but she didn’t think it would be a good idea to stick around for any longer. “I’m sorry. It was a mistake for me to come here.” She took the plate from Jacob, and then gave him a hug. “I should go back to school and face the music for running off like I did. Thanks for the wand. I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Sure, okay.” The way Jacob said that made it sound like he didn’t believe they’d actually be seeing each other again. “Take care of yourself, okay? And take care of your guy if he really makes you so happy.”

Danni appreciated that he didn’t actually say Harry’s name, because that probably wouldn’t be very well received by Judy. “You take care of yourself too.” Then she glanced back at Judy. “I know I was never your favorite between the two of us, but I wish that you could at least be honest with me. Even so, I wish you the best.” Then she hurried out of the tent, eating the sandwich as she walked to the camp’s boundary. She shoved the paper plate into her bag so that she wouldn’t resort to littering, and then stepped outside. When she glanced back, she couldn’t see any sign of the camp being there, and she sighed with resignation. This whole trip had been a complete waste of everything. Well, she’d learned that the wand was safe to use, so at least there was that. But overall, she’d only gotten more questions than answers, and she wished that she knew exactly what to do next.


	63. Harry

“So then it’s ‘you just took my backpack!’” Ron said, followed by loud guffaws of laughter.

Hermione snickered behind the cover of her hand for a moment before she managed to get herself under control. “I think you blew the punchline there.”

Ron pouted. “It’s not my fault that someone decided to steal my joke book, forcing me to tell all jokes based off of memory alone. And it’s not my fault that said person still won’t reveal the book’s location,” he said pointedly at Neville before sticking out his tongue at him. “And it’s also not my fault that none of you have very good senses of humor. At least try and appreciate the beauty of a good pun.”

Harry leaned over to talk to Neville. “I’m not alone in thinking that he has to be well aware of how awful those jokes are, right? Like at this point, he’s just doing it because he knows that it’s working like torture on us?”

Neville shrugged, and responded softly. “I don’t think it’s just you. He definitely has to know what he’s doing.”

Hermione suddenly straightened up to tower over the other Gryffindors that they were eating with. “Alright, it’s time for you hear from a master of bad muggle puns. My dad made dad-jokes like he needed them to survive, and I have gotten far more than my share of them. It’s only fair for all of you boys to suffer too.” Before Hermione could share the joke that was bound to be hilarious, if only because it would be said in her usual prim tone, a strange silence spread over the Great Hall. It was very unusual for the large room to ever be silent during mealtimes. Harry and Neville both turned to see what had caused the end of all the normal commotion.

There, walking right into the Great Hall as if she hadn’t just been gone for over two weeks, was Danni Cobb. Harry watched with wide eyes as she walked straight up to the faculty table, and stood in front of Dumbledore. Even with how silent the other students were being, it was impossible to make out what was being said. 

After less than a minute, Dumbledore stood up, and started to walk out of the room, Danni following right behind him. She paused in the doorway of the Great Hall to glance over to the Gryffindor table, but Harry couldn’t tell if she spotted him or not. He tried to offer a comforting smile just in case, even as his mind was whirling with so many questions. Where had she gone? Had she been successful there? What were going to be the consequences of her actions?

The chatter in the Great Hall soon picked back up, especially thanks to some encouragement from Professor McGonagall, and it felt normal again. Neville turned to give Harry a worried look. “I’m surprised that Flitwick didn’t go with them. You’d think that the head of her house should be involved in whatever repercussions there are to leaving like that.”

Harry hummed softly in agreement, and quickly finished eating so that he could hurry away. As he walked down the hallway, someone suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder, and he turned around only to relax when he saw that it was Fred Weasley. “Hey there mate. Where you off to in such a hurry? Worried about your girlfriend?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact I am very worried about my girlfriend.” 

Fred grinned and let go of Harry. “Hey, I’m not judging you. Anyone would be worried to find out that their girlfriend ran off without them for a couple of weeks, especially considering the fact that she’s the same person who went missing a few months ago. It’s kinda crazy, isn’t it? I mean, I don’t know of anyone else who’s managed to get away with missing so much school in a single year. It’ll be a wonder if they still let her graduate.”

Harry frowned. He hadn’t really given much thought to that part of things. “Well it is what it is. Hopefully when she explains the circumstances to the headmaster, he’ll be understanding enough to cut her some slack. I mean, running away isn’t a great thing to do, but she had her reasons.” He cleared his throat when he realized how defensive he sounded. “What do you want, anyways?”

Fred shrugged. “You looked like you were about to go off and do something incredibly stupid. I would be a horribly unlucky man to not be able to be a part of that.” He waggled his eyebrows ridiculously. “Come on, you know I can be very valuable to an adventure. All Ron ever seems to talk about during vacations is the exciting going ons that follow the boy-who-lived and I want in on that action.”

Harry blinked, then shook his head. “I wasn’t marching off to some mysterious adventure. I was just going to go wait outside the headmaster’s office to make sure I can catch Danni as soon as she comes out. I just want to make sure that she’s okay, and that she isn’t going to be treated too hardly. I don’t even know what I’d do if she ends up being expelled.” Then he looked up at the red head with narrowed eyes. “Did you really follow me out here because you believed that I would take you along on some grand, life-threatening adventure?”

Fred held his hands up in the air. “Alright, you got me. If, however, a situation came up where I got the opportunity to come along, I would be a fool to turn it down. But that’s not why I followed you out here. I wanted to tell you about something before you go find your girlfriend.” A grim expression crossed his features, and it looked very out of place on the usually chipper young man. “I only tell you this with the best of intentions, understand. But I’ve heard a few less than pleasant things about the elder Cobb sibling. He was a seventh year when George and I were just little baby first years. He was kind of out of our usual sphere of influence, but word got around. He was a super smart kid, and everyone was sure that he would have this grand ole future ahead of him. But he wasn’t that great a person. I know people who’ve heard him use the ‘m’ word multiple times. And-” he looked up and down the corridor, and then back at Harry once he was satisfied that they were alone out there. “It’s worse than that. I’ve heard that after he graduated, he took up with other You-Know-Who supporters. I’m not saying that you should judge someone based on their family, but you should definitely be careful.”

Harry blinked a few times, then nodded once. “I know about Danni’s family. She trusts me and confides in me. Thank you for trying to look out for me, but I promise that I’m just fine on my own. Why don’t you go back and finish your meal while I go see to my girlfriend.”

If Fred was at all shocked that Harry knew about Danni’s family and was still okay with dating her, he didn’t say anything about it. He just nodded as well. “Alright, mate. As long as you know what you’re doing, I’ll just let you be.” He leaned forward to speak in a softer voice. “Seriously, though, if you need any help at all, don’t hesitate to ask. The Gryffindors are always going to have your back.” Then he turned and walked back to the Great Hall.

Harry stared after him, not really entirely sure what to make of the encounter. He couldn’t recall a time where he’d ever been particularly close to Fred Weasley, or any of the Weasleys besides Ron, honestly, so he wasn’t sure where all that supposed loyalty came from. But he decided that it would be best to just not question it, and accept the help if he needed it. Not that he thought he’d need any help dealing with Danni of all people. No matter what her family might be made up of, she was a good person, and that’s something that Harry was quite sure of.

He waited another few seconds, mostly of surprise more than anything, then headed in the direction of the headmaster’s office, which was where he’d been planning on going anyways. When he got there, he decided that not enough time could’ve passed for Danni to have already explained everything to Dumbledore and left, so he leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest while he waited. 

He wasn’t even sure of how much time actually passed before the wall slid open, and Danni stepped out into the corridor. She didn’t seem surprised to see Harry there- which, duh, she had explained to him ages ago about how she could feel peoples’ minds- and she didn’t say anything to him. She just nodded forward and then started walking, clearly expecting Harry to follow her. Since he wasn’t really sure what else to do, he decided to follow her, and they walked in silence through the hallways for a while, until they got to some empty classroom, and slipped inside.

Harry closed and locked the door behind them, and then watched as Danni hopped up to sit on top of one of the desks. He walked over to stand near her, but not close enough for them to actually reach out and hold hands. “So,” he started awkwardly, not really sure what to say.

Luckily, Danni seemed to understand that in this case, she was the one responsible for getting the conversation going, and she cleared her throat. “So. I went to visit my aunt.” She looked at him carefully, but his thoughts were such a muddled mess that he didn’t think she’d be able to figure them out any better than he could. “I wanted to know why I can do something so out of the ordinary. Haven’t you ever stopped to think and found it totally bizarre that I can just read peoples’ minds? In a way that no spell can do, and I don’t even need a spell to do it? Haven’t you ever thought about weird that is?”

Harry shrugged. “I guess it never occurred to me to question. I thought that maybe it was just a part of you, and that’s that. It’s odd enough that you can read minds, so I never thought to question how. So did you find out?”

Danni shook her head. “She was pretty useless. I wanted to see memories of myself from-” she cut herself off sharply and pressed her lips together into a flat line for a long moment before continuing. “From my childhood. To see if this is something I could always do. But then again, I always thought that she had no idea I could even do it, so I’m not sure why I thought that her memories would be at all useful. Since it turned out to be totally useless to go there, I came straight back.”

Harry couldn’t help the widening of his eyes. “So you’re saying that you were basically just traveling around for two weeks straight only to find zero results? What was the point of even going then? And potentially getting yourself in trouble. Did you get into trouble?”

Danni nodded. “Some. I explained what little I could to Dumbledore, but I couldn’t tell him everything. He said he’d take it into consideration, but that I am definitely suspended from all my classes for now. I probably won’t pass any of my exams this year, even if I’m not permanently expelled.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Harry couldn’t contain a small chuckle. “I remember back during first year when Hermione said that getting expelled is even worse than dying. Ron and I thought that she’d gone completely mad, and were sure that we’d never want to be friends with her.”

One corner of Danni’s mouth quirked up into a small smile. “She’d have made a good Ravenclaw. You know, to be perfectly honest, it’s really easy to mentally place the ‘golden trio’ into all different houses. Ron for the Hufflepuffs, where they’re loyal and a bit stupid, Hermione with the Ravenclaws who highly value their education and learning, and you with the Slytherins who can be sneaky and cruel. It’s amazing that you were all placed into Gryffindor together.”

Harry shrugged. “You know, the sorting hat had actually considered placing me in Slytherin. But I was so sure that that’s where all the slimy gits went that I begged for anything but that. I’ve never asked any of my fellow housemates, but my personal theory is that you have to be brave enough to ask for Gryffindor to be placed in Gryffindor.”

“Makes sense.” Then Danni tugged Harry a bit closer so that there was hardly any space between them at all. “Well, since I’m basically certain that I’ll fail for the year, I guess I don’t have to bother with studying anymore,” she murmured. “That should leave me with plenty of free time for all kinds of more interesting activities.”

“Oh?” Harry arched one eyebrow. “Like flying? I know how much you seemed to enjoy that.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “You should’ve let yourself be placed into Slytherin so that everyone else would know how much of a git you truly are.”

Harry snorted. “So you weren’t thinking of flying? Care to be any more specific about you’d like to do with all of your newly discovered free time?”

,,,

Later, as they straightened themselves out and cast a few spells on each other to make sure they looked a bit less flustered, Harry realized that Danni was using her wand. “I thought you didn’t trust that to be safe?”

She hummed under her breath before sliding her wand into her pocket. “I saw my brother. He cleared up the misunderstanding between us. Turns out I was getting worked up over nothing. In my defense, he was acting like one creepy dude. But I read his mind and everything to make sure he was telling the truth, and he was. He really was just trying to look out for me.” She yawned once, then groaned as she glanced over at the small clock perched on the professor’s desk at the front of the room. “It’s already eleven. We’re going to have to sneak past our prefects.” She stood up on the tips of her toes to give Harry another kiss. “On the plus side, I highly doubt that I can get more punished than I already am.”

Harry was pretty sure that that wasn’t true, since Danni could still be expelled. Normally that would be a bit harsh for something like being out past curfew, but since she was already in trouble, anything was possible. But he decided not to say anything, because he knew that Danni was intelligent enough to think of such a thing on her own, and was probably just trying to make herself feel better. “Will you come sit with us at breakfast tomorrow? I really missed you while you were gone.”

“It was only two weeks,” Danni pointed out with an amused smile.

He sighed dramatically. “I know, but it felt like foreeever.” He blinked a few times when he saw the startled expression on Danni’s face, and he reached out to gently take one of her hands. “Hey, is everything okay? What’s wrong?”

Danni took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out before taking a step away from Harry and reaching up to mess with her hair until it was tied up loosely on the back of her head. “Nothing. I missed you too. But don’t get too attached to me,” she said in a teasing voice. “Or you might just die during winter break. And oh, just imagine the horror of summer break if you can’t even survive a fortnight without me!”

Even though she was laughing now, Harry still got the feeling that something was wrong. Everything had been going perfectly fine up until the moment he’d mentioned missing her when they were separated. And he remembered one or two other times where Danni had acted strangely at the mention of them being parted. Did she really think so poorly of him that she believed he’d let himself be killed off during the tournament finale? Or was there something else going on?

Either way, it seemed pretty obvious that she wasn’t willing to talk about it, at least not at the moment, so he decided to let it go for now. There was still plenty of time until that finale anyways, and hopefully, the longer that they were together, the more that Danni would be able to trust him. He already felt pretty honored by the amount of things he knew about her that hardly anyone else knew, and for now, that would have to be enough.

He returned the teasing grin. “You’re right. I don’t want to imagine those long breaks. I’m sure I’ll wither away without you just between this moment and the next that I see you.”

Danni swatted him playfully in the arm. “I can’t really blame you for that. Most people seem to swoon at the thought of not being near me.”

“Careful,” Harry said while trying to smother a loud bout of laughter. “It would seem that my arrogance is rubbing off on you.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “Arrogant of you to assume that it’s from you.” She glanced over at the clock again, and sighed. “We really should be going back to our dorms before it gets any later. I don’t envy you for having to scale so many flights of stairs so quickly.” They exchanged another quick kiss, and then Harry hurried off before he could let himself get drawn into further distraction. Though Danni was the best sort of distraction, he did want to avoid getting into too much unnecessary trouble this year.

He hadn’t thought to bring his invisibility cloak with him to dinner, but luckily, he didn’t bump into anyone on the way back to Gryffindor. The lady in the painting didn’t try to give him any difficulty, and swung open as soon as he told her the password. There were still a large handful of students scattered around the common room, but no one commented on the fact that Harry was returning past curfew.

He headed straight up to his dorm room, and flopped down onto his bed. He was really happy that Danni was back, but now that he’d noticed something was off, it was probably going to bother him until he could get to the bottom of the matter. But he found it tricky to focus too much on something that could be negative when he was still floating on the high of spending time with Danni. She was amazing, and he was so lucky to have her.


	64. Danni

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote the last chapter, it hadn’t occurred to me that this is their fourth year, which means that they’re only 14 years old, and now I feel a bit guilty about having them be together like that. But I don’t wanna go back and change it. So I’m sorry for the underage action, but it was consensual and they’re both the same age, so I hope that makes it at least a little bit better.

One of Danni’s dorm mates, Tiana, came up to her while she was busy scribbling away at an essay that had been assigned before her trip away from the school. “Hey, Danni, I know you haven’t been to classes in a little while, but do you think you could help me with this? It’s from charms, and I know you’ve always been really good with charms.”

Danni couldn’t help keeping the surprise off of her face. “You really want my help? I thought I was kind of the school pariah after what I did.”

Tiana laughed as she shook her head. “No way. How could anyone hate you when you’re kind of a legend around here? Everyone thinks it’s amazing that you were able to just leave like that. Kids have been trying to sneak out of this place for ages. And besides, everyone, at least in our house, isn’t afraid to acknowledge that you’re really smart. Please say that you’ll help me?”

Danni sighed, but then nodded once. “Alright, show me the assignment, and I’ll see what I can do. No guarantees though, because I really have missed a lot of classes.”

Tiana grinned and hurried off to grab her school bag while Danni made sure what little she had of her essay was dried before she rolled it up to stick in her own bag. Tiana returned a minute later, and eagerly spread several pieces of parchment out over the small table. “Thank you so much for agreeing to help me. I’ve been making sure to take really good notes in class, and I can make copies of all of them for you later.”

Danni smiled. “Thanks.” She didn’t bother pointing out the fact that those notes wouldn’t mean anything if she wasn’t allowed to continue classes for the year. Maybe she could just be homeschooled. Lots of magical kids were, since their parents believed that they would be the best at passing along knowledge of magic in the way that they knew it. Danni’s parents were usually pretty cool. They might be mad about the fact she’d gotten in trouble in the first place, but after they got over it, they’d be willing to teach her, right? 

Thinking of her parents had Danni wondering how much they knew about everything that was going on. Did they know she’d disappeared twice in one school year? Did they know about everything with Judy? They’d seen her kill Danni’s birth mother Judy, but she wasn’t sure if they’d ever gotten a complete explanation of everything that had happened. 

Then she shook her head to clear it of irrelevant thoughts, and focused entirely on helping Tiana finish her assignment. Despite having missed out on classes, she was able to figure out pretty much everything she needed to know after skimming through some of the other girl’s notes, and helped Tiana finish with a paper that she could be proud of.

Tiana thanked her about a million more times before hurrying off to the dorm, and Danni slumped back in the couch she’d been sitting on. She felt stiff from being hunched over the table for several hours, but she wasn’t in the mood to get up and walk around. Now that she didn’t have the distraction of someone else’s homework, her mind started going all over the place.

It was hard for her to pin down exactly how she was feeling at the moment, but she was pretty sure that she was disgusted with herself. Not for giving her first time to Harry, but for letting it be in some musty old classroom on nothing more than a whim. Wasn’t is supposed to be more special than that? And Danni was pretty sure it had been Harry’s first time too, though she’d been too embarrassed to actually ask. He deserved better than a spontaneous romp when Danni was busy feeling emotional about something else entirely. And she just knew that her parents would be mad to find out she’d done it so soon. They were teenagers, but they were still so young. 

And maybe, even if they’d planned it out and had candles and rose petals and perfection, it still would’ve been wrong. The closer she let Harry get to her, the more hurt he was going to be when Danni ended up dead. It was selfish enough to continue her relationship with Harry, knowing how it was going to have to end, but actually sleeping with him was probably the most selfish thing she’d ever done before in her entire life. 

She remembered her mother once telling her that people always remembered their first times. Maybe, without even thinking about it, Danni had been trying to ensure that Harry would always remember her. But that would be so selfish too, because it would only hinder him once he was ready to move on and be with someone else.

Danni groaned to herself, and grabbed a decorative pillow off of the end of the couch so that she could smoosh it lightly over her face. Why did everything have to be so impossible to figure out? As someone who’d been able to read minds her entire life, shouldn’t she be better at figuring out her own mind? Too bad it didn’t actually work that way.

After a while, Danni was slightly startled to feel the couch sink down a little bit next to her, which meant that someone had sat down. She sat up so that the pillow dropped into her lap, and then turned to see who had decided to spend time in her company. When she saw that it was just her brother, she let out a tired sigh, and spoke quietly even though she didn’t see anyone else in the common room at the moment. “Should I even bother to ask how you keep getting into the school? You’d think the place would be made to keep Death Eaters out or something, but I guess you’d be thinking wrong in that case.”

Jacob snorted. “It doesn’t really matter how I’ve been getting in. But look, I just wanted to talk to you. I feel like you were pretty upset when you left the camp, and I wanted to make sure that everything’s okay with you.” He hesitated before continuing. “And I’m starting to get more worried about Judy. She seems like she’s lost in her own head more often than not, and even though it sounds impossible, I’m pretty sure that she’s been using accidental magic.”

Danni furrowed her eyebrows as her mind began racing with the possibilities. “Some people are able to master wandless magic. Maybe she’s just working on it, and hasn’t quite figured it out yet?”

Jacob slowly shook his head. “I don’t think that’s what’s going on. I don’t really know how to explain it. She’ll just be wandering around, looking lost in thought, and then suddenly magic will happen, but not the really out of control stuff. Just the little things, like random small injuries being healed, and the grass getting greener, and her hair is a lot longer than it was last week. I don’t know what you guys talked about that made you both so upset, but whatever it is, I think it’s made her really upset. Maybe you should try talking to her again. You guys could work something out between you.”

“Why would she get so upset over anything that I said? We both know that she’s always played major favorites towards you. I barely ever talk to the woman.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Jacob shrugged and slouched back. “I’m not going to lie; I’ve always noticed how distant she’s kept herself from you. And I’ve never understood why. I might be stronger with my magic, but you’ve always been a lot smarter than me, and would make a really great asset. So I have no clue why she never tried to recruit you. Like not even a little bit, as far as I know. And then there’s the matter of your unique gift. I’d think she’d be dying to bring you over to our side.”

It didn’t sound like Jacob knew anything about the fact that alternate universes existed, or that there had been another Judy. Did he even know that he and Danni weren’t even siblings? Technically they were cousins, but did he know that Danni was adopted? She hadn’t even known that, but he was also closer to Judy, and more likely to be the one she would talk to about anything.

Danni just shrugged. “The point is, I don’t get why you’d think that I’m the one who upset her.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. Obviously I don’t think you went so far out of your way just to make Judy upset and all weird. But it’s pretty clear that something happened in the short amount of time that it took me to get you food. What did you guys talk about while I wasn’t there?”

Danni sighed, and slowly got to her feet. “I don’t think Judy would want…” she trailed off as she felt someone’s mind moving closer. “Someone’s coming. You should probably get out of here.”

“It’s not like they can legally punish me for being who I am. Not like there’s any evidence to prove something like that anyways.”

“Maybe not, but they can legally punish you for trespassing on Hogwarts grounds with permission, and there are already enough rumors about the career path you chose to take. We both know that if those rumors were to get more substantial, it would cause nothing but trouble for not only me, but for Mom and Dad too.”

Jacob sighed. “Fine, I get it. I’ll get out of here before your reputation can be stained by something that’s actually outside of your control this time. But I really am worried about Judy. You might not be very close to her, but she’s our aunt, and family is very important.” He got to his feet, then leaned over to pull Danni into a hug. “I’m going, but this isn’t over. Take care of yourself until I see you again.” He headed towards the exit that would lead out into the corridor, then glanced back to give Danni an unreadable look. She didn’t try to read his mind, though. Whatever it was he was thinking, it was up to him whether he wanted to share it or not. “And I will be seeing you again.”

Before Danni could ask him about why that was even something in question, he left the room, and she knew better than to try and follow him. She’d been the one to kick him out anyways, so she didn’t think he’d appreciate her trying to go after him. He’d probably think she was just trying to figure out how he got into the school or something.

Then she glanced over to the doorway just as someone stepped into the common room. It was some sixth year that Danni vaguely knew but had never spoken with before. They looked surprised to see her there. “A little late to still be up, isn’t it?” 

“I could say the same to you,” Danni pointed out. Without even trying, she could hear someone’s name echoing around in the sixth year’s head. Apparently they were on their way out, past curfew, to meet up with their significant other. Danni couldn’t really do anything to stop them without being a massive hypocrite, considering her own late night adventures with Harry the other day. “I was just finishing up a killer essay,” she said with an awkward laugh. “Good night.” Then she headed in the direction of the fourth year girl’s dorm, not wanting to stop the sixth year from getting their chance to sneak away.

When she got into her dorm, she saw that mostly everyone else was already asleep, though she could make out a bit of light shining from the closed drapes around one bed, and knew that the girl inside was probably trying to do late night reading without disturbing anyone else in the room. 

Danni quickly changed into her pajamas and then crawled into her bed, drawing the drapes shut closed around her. She usually preferred to sleep with the feeling of being separated from the others in the room. Even though she was better at controlling her gift now, when she’d first moved to Hogwarts at eleven years old, she’d been forced to share a bedroom for the first time in her life, and discovered that it was very easy for her to accidentally slip into someone else’s head while they were dreaming. That was always a strange feeling, because she wouldn’t be able to see any specific images, but she’d be able to hear a narration of what was going on. Unfortunately, some of the things she heard from other peoples’ dreams were not things she wanted to know about at all, and the annoyance of it used to keep her awake at night. The flimsy curtain wasn’t really enough to block her gift, but it felt like a barrier, and that had been enough to help her keep control back when she’d still been learning.

The next morning, Danni was woken up by the sounds of her peers getting up and moving about in order to get ready for the day. She just continued to lay where she was though. Was there really any point in getting up so early when she didn’t have any classes to rush to? And skipping breakfast wasn’t an issue, since she didn’t have any physically demanding tasks to do today. Harry might get a little bothered by missing out on the chance to spend time with Danni, but maybe that was a good thing. It would be like weaning him off of her presence so that he’d be okay without her when the time came.

Not that Danni even knew when exactly it would be the right time for her sacrifice. She figured that there would at least be some kind of sign leading up to it though. Hopefully. She was pretty sure that it would have to do with the tournament at least, since there were plans for Harry to be killed during it. But not until the end, which meant that Danni was pretty sure she had until the last trial to settle her affairs and whatnot. Did she need to write a will? What would make it legally binding though? And it’s not like she really had a lot of stuff to be giving away. Should she write a note, at least? Something to explain to her parents, and Harry, and other friends why-? No, that would be stupid. If anyone found it too soon, they’d probably get the wrong idea.

Danni really needed to stop thinking about death. It didn’t matter that she was only fourteen, would be fifteen soon. She couldn’t focus on the fact that she’d just be someone who died young. She just needed to think of all the fun and exciting things she could do before she died. It’s not like she had classes going on anyways, which meant that she had plenty of time to fulfill a bucket list of sorts. It couldn’t have anything major on it, since she wasn’t stupid enough to try taking off again, but there had to be plenty of stuff that could be done around the giant castle. There was absolutely no reason for her to not enjoy whatever time she had left. And then she’d die knowing that she’d done the entire universe a huge favor by letting Harry live. 

She waited until she couldn’t hear noise from any of the girls anymore, and then she finally decided to get up and get ready herself. She took a quick shower and got dressed in her usual robes before going through her bag to pull out the paper she’d been working on the night before. It was nice to have time to work without the noisy distractions that came with living in a small space with a large number of very curious people.

Danni spread her piece of parchment out on the table, and grabbed her ink and quill from her bag as well. She flipped through some books to find all the parts that she wanted to quote, and scribbled away as she finished the essay. When someone suddenly came up behind her to tap her on the shoulder, she lurched forward awkwardly and left a huge ink blot on the middle of the page.

She looked up in annoyance, ready to reprimand whoever it was for having bothered her, though she was mostly annoyed with herself for not realizing that someone had been approaching her. She frowned when she saw someone she vaguely recognized as being a fifth year. “What did you do that for?” she grumbled. 

The other girl shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to mess up your paper.” Danni shrugged as she waved her wand to clean up the stray ink marks. “I just wanted to talk to you about something. You’re dating Harry Potter, right?”

Danni furrowed her eyebrows. “Since when is that public news?”

The other girl shrugged again. “It just seems kind of obvious, with the way you’re always sitting with him at the Gryffindor table, and a few people saw you guys flying around together. So is it true?”

Well, they hadn’t really taken the time to discuss it, but Danni didn’t think it would be that horrible for people to know that she was dating Harry Potter. Maybe a little embarrassing to know that some of the people who knew of her previous hatred of him would be confused, but that was about it. “Yeah. Why?”  
The girl sighed, and sank down to sit next to Danni. “Well, you’re dating one of the tournament champions, and I’m dating one of the tournament champions. I thought that the two of us should maybe discuss how things are going to go. I mean, we’re both Ravenclaws, and both of our boyfriends are in two different houses. I don’t want to worry about house loyalties causing any problems, you know? So I thought maybe we should talk about how you’re going to react publically after Cedric wins.”

There was a long moment of silence as Danni tried to comprehend what had just been said. “Look- Cho, right?” The other girl nodded once. “I don’t know what fantasy world you’re living in, but so far, Harry’s in the lead. He did awesome with the whole dragons and eggs thing. And he’s a really strong competitor, even if he is younger than the others. I think he has the greatest chance of winning.” Of course, she couldn’t explain that the whole game was rigged in his favor from the start, but the truth was that he did have the greatest chance of winning, considering the fact that all of this had been designed basically just for him.

The older girl frowned. “I’m not trying to pick a fight with you. I just thought you should know that-” 

“I get it,” Danni interrupted. “I don’t think that house loyalties will be a problem for us. No matter who wins. This isn’t about houses anyways, it’s about school loyalty. If either Harry or Cedric do end up winning, then that means that Hogwarts is the winner, and that’s what we should focus on.”

Cho narrowed her eyes, then stood up. “Yeah. It’s all about giving Hogwarts the glory of the win. I get it.” She crossed her arms over her chest to give Danni a stern look. “But I hope you understand that Cedric is the only Hogwarts champion who actually deserves to be competing in the first place. Your boyfriend cheated his way into the tournament, and he’s not going to win. He doesn’t deserve to. Cedric is the better man.”

Danni shrugged. “Whatever. Think what you want. I hope you realize that we’re not the ones who are supposed to be competing, though.” She couldn’t help skimming through some of Cho’s surface thoughts, to try and figure out what had prompted this confrontation. “I’m sorry if you’re jealous that someone as famous as Harry is already taken, but that’s no reason to act so catty. And don’t even try to deny that that’s what’s going on. You didn’t want to be with Cedric until after he was picked as champion anyways. Apparently you just have a thing for famous guys.”

Cho definitely didn’t look happy. “I didn’t come in here to fight with you, I came to have a civil conversation. If you’re not capable of that, then that’s not my problem. Good luck finding anyone who actually does want to talk to you, though. You know that you being with Harry is only going to make his reputation worse, right?”

“Why’s that?” Danni asked in an innocent voice. 

For a moment, Cho stood there awkwardly, but then she let out a loud huff, and stormed away. Danni watched her go, and then looked back down at her paper. She felt bad for Cedric, not that she’d ever talked to the older boy before. But having to put up with that all the time had to be pretty exhausting. 

She couldn’t really focus on her paper anymore, though. And honestly, there was no point in doing it. It’s not like the professor would accept work weeks past the due date, even if she was allowed to return to her classes. And she couldn’t help thinking about what Cho had said. Was it true that she was dragging Harry down in more ways than she’d thought? He was a hero type, and probably wouldn’t say anything if he thought it would hurt her. Was she supposed to just break up with him though? That seemed like it would only make everything worse, especially considering what had happened between them just a few days ago. 

After a while of thinking it over, Danni leaned back, and tilted her head so she was staring up at the ceiling. Why couldn’t anything in her life just be easy for once? She didn’t want to worry about typical teen drama when she already had so much else going on. And she hadn’t found a pensieve to view her own memories in yet. And Judy was apparently being weird. And maybe Tiana had lied about Danni’s popularity because she wanted the help on the assignment no matter what. She reached up to cover her eyes with the crook of her elbow. Her life hadn’t been even half as complicated before she’d met Harry. And yet she couldn’t really imagine living a life without him in it.


	65. Harry

Harry had let himself get so distracted with everything going on with Danni, it had completely escaped his attention that Christmas would be coming so quickly. A couple weeks of dancing lessons with Professor McGonagall, and then suddenly it was the Christmas Eve, which meant it was also the day before the Yule Ball. Harry felt so awkward knowing that he’d be heading in there as one of the champions, but he was determined to get through the event with his dignity as intact as possible. 

It took Harry longer than he was expecting to track down Danni and corner her somewhere private, even with the use of the marauder's map. Of course, she could always tell when he was coming towards her and then run off if she wanted to, even if Harry wasn’t quite sure why she would be avoiding him like that.

But now he’d finally gotten to her, probably because it was just after lunch and with the swarm of people in the corridor, Danni hadn’t been able to focus on a single mind coming towards her. He reached out to grab Danni’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze. She seemed to jump up just a little bit out of surprise, and then turned to look at him with one eyebrow arched questioningly.

Harry started walking, and gently tugged Danni along with him. She was perfectly capable of peeking into his head to figure out what was going on, but Harry was pretty sure that she wouldn’t do that, since she always seemed adamant about not looking into friends’ minds, and the two of them were different than friends.

After a few minutes, Harry pulled Danni into an empty classroom. She seemed to hesitate in the doorway for just a moment before following him inside, though she left the door open behind them. Once they were in the middle of the room, Harry let go of Danni’s hand so that he could cup the sides of her face and give her a kiss. 

Once he pulled away, he gave her a big grin. “I considered making this into a huge deal, but I figured that you wouldn’t appreciate all those eyes on you, so I decided to just ask you in private instead. Will you accompany me to the Yule Ball?”

Danni’s eyes widened, and then after a long moment, she nodded once. “Yeah, alright. I guess I don’t have anything better going on that night, so I may as well clear my schedule.”

Harry’s grin somehow grew even wider. “Glad you could pencil me in then.” He pulled her into a brief hug, and then when he stepped back, he let his hands slide down so that he could hold both of Danni’s hands. “I know it’s going to be a bit awkward because none of us, except for some of the purebloods, are really experts in ballroom dancing, and all the eyes are going to be on the champions at the beginning of the night, but I know that as long as you’re there with me, it will be worth going.”

Danni smiled in return. “I’ve gotten a glimpse or two from your fellow Gryffindor fourth years from your dancing lessons. I’m pretty sure that you are going to make an utter fool of yourself without me there to keep you in line.”

Harry tilted his head curiously. “You’ve only had the same amount of time to study these dances that I have, right? Maybe I should ask some of the Ravenclaws how you’re doing in your lessons so that we have an equal amount of blackmail material on each other.”

Danni laughed. “I doubt you’d be able to blackmail me with information about how amazing I am at the ballroom dances. Don’t forget that although I might be-” she cut herself off, and a sour look crossed her face for just a second before her smile returned. “Both of my parents have magic, and my aunt is a member of a group of pureblood elitists. I’ve had plenty of dancing lessons growing up.”

“Huh. I guess I hadn’t really thought about that much. Is it offensive if I say that I’ve never really thought of you as a pureblood?”

Danni just shrugged. “Think of me as however you want. But not all purebloods are pure evil. Your friend Ron is a pureblood, isn’t he? Besides I’m not- I’m just-” she sighed, and shook her head once. “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter. The point is that I was raised a certain way, and my brother was too, but he took to the pureblood ‘lifestyle’ a lot more than I did, I guess.”

Harry wondered what Danni had been trying to say before she’d given up on saying it. He figured that there was no point in pressing the issue, though, since it didn’t seem to be anything too important. “Well, no matter how you were raised, I like you just the way you are.” He leaned forward to give her another kiss.

After just a couple of seconds, Danni pressed her hands against Harry’s chest to push him back, a small amused smile on her face. “I need to get to class now. I’m pretty sure that if I get even a single little infraction at this point, I’ll just be straight up expelled. I’m honestly surprised that that hasn’t happened already, and I really don’t want to push my luck.”

Harry sighed over dramatically, but he knew that Danni was right, and he knew that he didn’t want her to get in any trouble for missing any of her makeup classes. They exchanged one last brief kiss, and then Harry turned to leave the classroom. “You coming? I thought you didn’t want to push your luck.”

Danni nodded once. “Yeah. I just need to- you go on without me. My next class is pretty close to here, and I just need a minute.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows in concern, but it was obvious that Danni was dismissing him for the time being, and he didn’t want to be that jerk who tried to force people to talk about things before they were ready. He knew that she had to have a lot going on between her family, and worrying about Harry’s future in the tournament, and all of her trouble with school. The important thing was that he would be there for her whenever she was ready to talk. 

He went through the rest of his day like normal, trying to mentally prepare himself for the ball. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of everyone. This year, more students had stayed over winter break than any other year Harry had seen, and most of them had probably stayed specifically to attend the ball and get to know the students from the other two schools. Danni was the only student that he knew of who had to take classes over break, and that was just because of how many classes she’d missed during her little unsanctioned adventure.

At the end of the next day, after all of the Christmas excitement, Harry returned to the dorms, where he and the rest of the guys started changing into their formal robes so that they would be dashing and handsome during the ball. Well, that’s why Harry wanted to look nice. He was pretty sure that most of the others just wanted to keep McGonagall off of their backs. 

When Harry went to where he and Danni had agreed on meeting up so that they would be able to make their grand entrance together, he actually found himself freezing between one step and the next, causing him to stumble forwards. He managed to regain his balance before landing flat on his face on the floor, but it was a close one. 

He couldn’t help staring at Danni with wide eyes. “Wow. You look…” He’d never seen her wearing anything other than her school robes and uniform before, so seeing her like this felt like something out of a dream. She was wearing dark blue robes made of some shimmery material that made it look purple in some lights and black in others, and black pants with shiny gold stars speckled all over them. Her hair was pulled into a complicated looking braid that was draped artfully over one shoulder, and she was wearing a crescent moon earring on one ear, and a sun on the other. “You look amazing.”

Danni smiled, and her eyes seemed to light up at the compliment. “Thanks.” She pinched out the sides of her robes so that she could bob down in a curtsey. Then she nodded towards Harry’s outfit. “You look nice too, though I’m assuming that someone helped you decide what to wear, because that color really makes your eyes stand out.”

Harry shrugged. “Guess I’m just not as creative, or fashionable, as you.” He wanted to ask what made her decide to not wear a dress like the rest of the girls were, but then decided that it didn’t really matter either way. What did matter was that Danni looked absolutely stunning, and from the look on her face, she was well aware of that fact too. Harry was glad for this opportunity to just have a nice night with Danni.

He held out one hand, palm facing up, and Danni put her hand on top of his. She had a happy grin on her face, which was nice because Harry felt like it had been a while since she’d last looked so happy. 

As they walked into the Great Hall, where all the tables had been removed, and lots of cheery decorations had been up everywhere, it felt like everyone stopped talking for a moment to just gawk at Harry and his date instead. Not wanting to let it ruin his evening, he just kept his head held high and continued to lead Danni into the room. She must’ve realized that he didn’t want to make any kind of a scene, because she just followed his lead until they were mixed in with the crowd, and everyone went back to their conversations.

A little while later, Harry and Danni had to go back to the entrance of the room so that they could be announced with the other champions. Harry was surprised to see Hermione there as Viktor Krum’s date, and wondered what he had missed out on for that to happen without him noticing.

When all four of the champions had been announced, the band jumped right into some lively music that seemed out of place with the ballroom dancing they’d all practiced for, but it was fun all the same. Danni seemed to be having a blast the whole time, and she had to have noticed that there were several other guys present who seemed to appreciate her outfit. But Harry didn’t let that bother him, because he knew that Danni had chosen to be with him, and that was that.

Harry had so much fun dancing with Danni that he was only vaguely aware of some kind of drama going on with Hermione and Ron. he decided to just ignore it, because he didn’t want anything to ruin his night. He had to deal with so much just on a daily basis, and Harry felt like he deserved a break from all of the stressful things. 

As the ball began winding down, Harry led Danni away. They pulled on their jackets, and headed outside, braving the cold winter weather. They slowly strolled around the castle, just enjoying the peacefulness of it all. Harry decided to break the silence after a little while, though. “I uh, wasn’t really sure what to get you for Christmas,” he admitted. “But don’t worry, because I did get you a present. I left it in my room though, so if you want, we can head up there in a bit.”

Danni nodded. “Sounds good, as long as we can stop by my room first so that I can grab your present.” 

If Harry didn’t listen so intently to Danni whenever she spoke, he might have missed the slight tinge of sadness in her voice. He didn’t want her to feel like this night was anything but perfect, but he felt like he needed to bring it up now. “Hey, is everything okay?”

Danni seemed almost startled as she abruptly tilted her head back to look up at him. “Yeah, everything’s perfectly fine. Why wouldn’t it be? Life is great. I haven’t been expelled, I’m dating you, the ball was a success, you’re winning the tournament, and you got me a Christmas present. What could there possibly be that isn’t okay right now?”

Her words got more rushed as she spoke, until they were practically all blended together in her last question. Harry paused, and turned to face Danni fully. He reached out to tuck behind her ear a strand of her hair that had come loose during their dancing. “You know it’s okay for everything to not be okay, right? If there’s anything bothering you, you can just talk to me. I can’t read minds, so that’s the only way that I can know if there’s something wrong. And if there is something wrong, then I want to know so that I can do everything in my power to try and help make it better, or at the very least, to just be able to support you.”

Danni sighed. “Sorry, I know that it isn’t very fair of me to keep things from you when I know that it’s impossible for you to keep anything from me if I was really eager to find something out. But I need you to accept the fact that there are some things I just can’t tell you. You’re one of the most important people in my life, and I care about you so much, but I need to keep certain things to myself.” Harry understood that, and he was about to say as much, but Danni wasn’t done yet. “There are some things I can’t tell you, but I do need to get better at saying the things that I can. I’m just feeling a little upset today because my brother told me that my aunt seems to be getting even worse, and I don’t know if visiting her would make it better or not, and I don’t know if I even want to visit her.” She closed her eyes for a long moment, and then looked up at Harry. “What do you think I should do?”

It was a shame to let anything unhappy bleed into the night, which had been going so well up until now, but Harry was more concerned about Danni’s long term happiness than he was with the ball. And besides, he’d at least given her a mostly good night, which had hopefully helped keep her mind off of all her problems. 

He took a moment to consider everything he knew about the situation, which wasn’t very much because Danni was always saying she wanted to give him plausible deniability, and then finally answered her. “I know that you care about your aunt, but you’re still facing the consequences of running off the last time. I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to head out again. I’m sorry that your aunt is doing well, but whatever’s wrong with her is absolutely not your fault, and it isn’t your job to try and make everything better for her. She’s the adult here, and she’s made her own choices in life that have led her to this point. Besides that, she already has your brother there, and he’s just as smart as you, so if there is some kind of magical solution, then I’m sure he’d be able to figure it out on his own.”

Danni sniffled once, and then nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” She smiled, and stood up on the tips of her toes to give Harry a kiss. “Thank you. You’re just so amazing.”

Harry smiled. “Why don’t we get back inside before we both freeze into solid, human shaped icicles? I really want to exchange gifts with you.” 

They went inside, and passed by the Ravenclaw dorm first so that Danni could grab Harry’s present, and then both of them headed up to the Gryffindor dorm. Once they were inside, they retreated to the fourth year boys dorm, and were glad to see that none of the other guys had come back yet. 

Danni settled down on Harry’s bed while he rummaged through his trunk quickly to grab Danni’s present. Then he got comfortable next to her, and handed over the clumsily wrapped package. “I know it’s not great. It’s still so weird for me to get used to wrapping up presents.” It’s not like he ever had anyone to give presents to back before he’d first come to Hogwarts, and even now, there were only so many opportunities to give gifts. He looked at Danni expectantly as he waited for her to open it, hoping that she would like it.

Danni carefully peeled the paper off, making sure to keep it in one piece so that she could fold it up and save it. Then she opened the box that had been wrapped up, and pulled out the contents. It was a book about some experimental mixtures of muggle science and magic, and a blank notebook with a fancy gold embossed cover.

There was a warm smile on Danni’s face, and she leaned over to give Harry a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. I love it.” Then she handed over a small velvet box. “Sorry it’s not wrapped. I spent so long wondering if it was the right choice that I ended up running out of time.”

Harry took the box with a smile. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it.” And he wasn’t lying. He was pretty sure that Danni could hand him a literal box of garbage, and he would love it because it was something that she had chosen to give to him. He carefully opened the lid of the box, and saw a shiny pocket watch. He pulled it out and pressed it open. It was an expensive looking watch, with a sleek outer casing, glittering numbers, and an engraving on the inside. It said ‘To Harry- so that you never forget the time we spent together’.

Danni had a slightly embarrassed look on her face. “I know that it’s tradition to give a watch like this on a wizard’s seventeenth birthday, but I wasn’t sure if I would be- well. I just saw this and thought of you.”

Harry had never heard of that tradition before, but there were about a million wizarding traditions that he had absolutely no idea about. “Well I love it, so thank you very much.” He gave her a long kiss, and then they both leaned back so that they were just lying together on the bed. It had been a nice night, all things considered, and Harry knew that he was going to cherish this watch, and all of his time with Danni, forever.


	66. Danni

The rest of the winter holidays passed by in a blur for Danni, since most of that time for her was spent in classes, rushing to make up for everything she had missed. It had been made very clear to her that if she wasn’t completely caught up by the start of the new semester, she wouldn’t be able to stay in Hogwarts. It had been a while since the last person had been expelled from the school, at least a few years, and Danni didn’t want to be the one to break that record. 

She didn’t care about ruining her future, since she was certain that she wouldn’t have a very long one anyways, but if she was kicked out, it would mean that she’d probably never see Harry again, and she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible until the end. She wasn’t sure whether it counted as irony or not that she wanted to stay in school and spend time with him, which meant that she almost never got to spend time with him over the holidays because she was so focused on her schoolwork.

And then the break was finally over, and the school was once again flooded by its full capacity of morons, though a lot less people had gone home than usual because they were all so excited by the idea of all the festivities, and possibly getting the chance to hang out with the foreign kids.

Danni had worked her butt off to earn the right to stick around, but she knew that the workload wasn’t going to suddenly decrease now that classes had started back up. She hated being so busy all the time, but at least she was now caught up with her peers, so she didn’t have to spend quite so much time on her assignments, which gave her more time to spend with Harry since she was acing her classes.

Which is why she was so confused when got woke up one morning to find a letter waiting from her from the headmaster of all people, requesting that she report to his office as soon as possible, and to not mention anything about it to anyone else. Danni furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Had she messed up on something and not realized it? Was this going to be when she was expelled after all, and Dumbledore just wanted to avoid having her make a scene?

Well Danni wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. If she was being booted from the school, she would face her fate with all of the dignity that she could muster. The world wasn’t fair, and she didn’t think she deserved to be kicked out after working so hard to get back up to speed, but if that was what was going to happen, then there was nothing she could do to fight against it. Her parents would be disappointed at first, but then surely they’d move on and start thinking of the millions of things she could do with her life even without an official education.

There was a solemn look on her face the entire time as she walked to the office, and took the moving stairs up to the top. Though she was very confused when she stepped inside the office, and saw Hermione, Cho, and some unfamiliar blonde girl. She looked over at where Dumbledore and McGonagall were standing. “Professor…?”

The headmaster clapped his hands together. “Ah, now that all four of you are here, allow me to explain why you have been summoned. The second task of the triwizard tournament is to take place today-” Danni swore under her breath. How could she have lost track of time enough to complete forget that the second task was coming up soon? At least she could rest easy in knowing that she’d given Harry the spell to breath underwater, so he was bound to be fine. “-and the object of the task is to rescue someone. As far as we could determine, each of you holds extreme significance to one of the champions. Which is why you will be the damsels to be rescued.”

Hermione frowned, and then stated the obvious. “I’m sorry, professor, but doesn’t this seem a bit sexist to you? All of the champions are men, and you want us to be the damsels in distress?”

The headmaster didn’t seem bothered by Hermione’s question. “Ah, but I can assure you that you will not be in any distress whatsoever. You will be able to sleep peacefully through the entire task, and will wake up once it is over, and only once it is over.”

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, but seemed unwilling to push for a fight on this one, which surprised Danni a bit. If she wasn’t already on strict probation, Danni would probably push the topic for herself, but as it was, she was lucky to still be a student here, and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. 

Danni sighed, then nodded once. “Alright, I’m in.” She hoped that her immediate acceptance and cooperation would earn her some brownie points with Dumbledore and with the school in general.

The blonde girl nodded as well. “I will be glad to help.” She spoke with a heavy French accent, leading Danni to the obvious assumption that she was from Beauxbatons. 

Cho shot Danni a quick glare before agreeing to participate. Hermione let out a long sigh, and looked pretty uncomfortable, but then she agreed as well, though there was some obvious reluctance in her tone. 

Dumbledore grinned. “Excellent!”

McGonagall nodded towards Dumbledore’s desk. “If you have any personal belongings on you that you don’t want to risk losing or getting ruined, leave them here, and I promise you will get them back at the conclusion of the task.” All four girls pulled out their wands to leave on their desks. Danni didn’t have anything else on her, though the blonde took a small butterfly clip out of her hair, Hermione put down some folded up parchment sheets that had been in her pocket, and Cho took off the necklace she’d been wearing. Once that was taken care of, McGonagall pointed her wand at the blonde, and a moment later, the girl’s eyes slid shut even as she continued to stand there. 

Danni couldn’t help feeling curious about what spell was being used even as it was pointed at Cho next, and then Hermione. It obviously had some kind of sleeping component to it, but if it was just that, then the girls would collapse. And they certainly weren’t rigid enough to have been frozen. And due to the nature of the task, it would also have to somehow ensure that all four of them wouldn’t drown beneath the lake. Before Danni could keep analyzing the spell, the wand was pointed at her, and then everything went black.

,,,

Danni woke with a gasp, and was immediately aware of the fact that she was soaking wet, and felt like she was freezing. Someone draped a warm blanket over her, though she felt like the chill would never fade away from where it seemed to have leeched into her bones. She coughed up a bit of water, and then let her eyes flutter open to see Dumbledore peering down at her in concern.

She shivered as she moved to sit up and clutch the blanket tighter around her. “So I take it the task is over?” She looked around, but it still seemed to be early morning, and there was no big cheering crowd, or champions, or anyone else. McGonagall and some stuck up looking redhead standing a little bit further down the dock. She frowned in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Something that I had not considered when setting up this task,” Dumbledore admitted. “It would appear that your unique ability was not quieted as an effect of the spell that was used on you. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect. There were no issues at first, but once you were fully submerged, everyone present experienced the rather intense sensation of drowning. We quickly pulled you out, which is when the spell on you broke.”

Danni raised her arm to cover her mouth as she sneezed once, and then gave Dumbledore an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that something like that would happen. I didn’t even know that something like that was possible. I guess I don’t get into a forced unconscious state often enough to know everything that it does to me. I’m sorry if I’ve totally ruined your task.”

Dumbledore smiled. “It’s quite alright. I’m sure that Ronald Weasley will make a suitable replacement as someone Mr. Potter would be quite motivated to rescue, and a patronus message is heading to fetch him as we speak. My real concern at the moment is you. Are you alright? How are you feeling in this moment, Ms. Cobb?”

Danni shrugged. “Wet and cold, mostly. Does this mean that the cat’s out of the bag about me now? Does everyone know that I-”

“I hardly think so,” Dumbledore interrupted. “I haven’t heard of any panicking in the students, so I don’t believe that anyone not on this dock felt anything from you. And those that did have no way of fully understanding what happened.”

Danni rolled her eyes. “It started as soon as I was underwater and stopped as soon as I was pulled out, which was something you apparently thought to do right away. You really think that they’re not going to make any connections?” 

“I can not control the assumptions that others may jump to, Ms. Cobb. For now, the show must go on, as they say. And you should be checked over by Madame Pomfrey to make sure that there were no other ill effects of your experience today. She should be on her way here, along with your replacement. I do offer my deepest apologies if my attempt to include you in this task has brought you any harm.”

Danni sighed, and she felt like a stuffed animal with all of the stuffing tumbling out of her. “It’s fine. This is for the best anyways, since it will give me the chance to actually watch Harry win here.” Then she glanced over at where McGonagall and the redhead were standing. She wasn’t sure who he was, but it took just a brief glance in his head to see that he was one of the many Weasley children, and that he was standing in for Mr. Crouch at the moment. She focused back on Dumbledore. “I know you said that the people in the castle probably didn’t feel anything, but they did, right? How are we going to explain to them what happened?” She kept her voice low and calm even though she was freaking out on the inside. She didn’t want her ability to become something that lots of people knew about.

Dumbledore tilted his head thoughtfully for a moment. “I assure you that we will figure something out so that you do not have to worry about having your talent made known to more people than necessary. Though they will certainly need to be given some reason for why such a strange event occurred. As you said, they are not foolish enough to not make the connection to you. So what would you like me to tell them in order to get ahead of the story?”

Danni narrowed her eyes. “You want me to think of an excuse? Aren’t you the professional here?”

The headmaster didn’t seem bothered by Danni raising her voice a bit, or by the slightly accusatory tone that she used. “I had simply assumed that because they will be told something that inevitably must involve you, you would prefer to have some control over the situation. If I was wrong to assume so, then I will be happy to think of an excuse on my own.”

Danni leaned over to cough up some more water, and she didn’t even bother to look guilty for getting it right where Dumbledore’s robes fanned out around him on the dock. Not that it really mattered, since it didn’t do anything to remove the merry, twinkly look from the man’s face. “Can you at least stall them until I think of something?”

Before Dumbledore could answer, there was the sound of hurrying footsteps, and Madame Pomfrey and Ron both ran down the dock. Madame Pomfrey immediately knelt down next to Danni and began waving her wand to cast a whole battery of assessment spells to figure out her exact condition. Meanwhile, Ron stood around looking awkward, and pointedly avoided looking at his brother.

While the nurse worked on Danni, Dumbledore got to his feet, and flicked his own wand once so that his robes would be perfectly dry, and then he turned to face Ron. He reached out to put his hand on one of Ron’s shoulders, and steered the boy a bit further down the dock, closer to McGonagall and Percy Weasley. 

After Madame Pomfrey finished all of her basic spells, she summoned another blanket to replace the first one which had already been soaked through, and then helped Danni up to her feet. “We’re just going to head back to the castle now, and straight to the infirmary to get you into some dry clothes, and warm you up before you catch something. Come along now.”

Danni glanced over at the end of the dock, and saw that McGonagall was already waving her wand at Ron, which meant that he must’ve agreed pretty quickly to be submerged in icy cold water while under the influence of a weird coma. The things that some people did for friendship, Danni thought to herself with a small smile. 

It didn’t take too long to get to the infirmary, and there were clearly other students up and about now, though not many since it was still early and there were no classes to attend for the day. A few people gave Danni odd looks, but for the most part she went entirely ignored. Maybe her reputation had already faded enough during the holidays that she could go back to living a quiet life. Or at least as quiet as possible, all things considered.

She was grateful to take a hot shower, and then change into a dry set of pajamas. It was crazy that the tournament wanted people going underwater in this weather. She hoped that there would be no fatalities. The spell that would let Harry breath had no time limit, so that wouldn’t be an issue, but it didn’t come pre-equipped with any sort of insulation or warming device, so she could only hope that her boyfriend would be smart enough to think of casting something on himself. Too bad she was probably going to be held in here for too long to be able to actually get a chance to talk to him before the start of the tournament.

The nurse fussed over Danni for a little bit, and forced her to chug down two very nasty potions, and one that was actually kind of flavorless, but filled her with a pleasant warmth. Then Madame Pomfrey gave Danni a curious look. “I’m not sure of what caused such a crazy reaction to Professor McGonagall’s spell, and that is worrisome.”

Danni bit her lip. “I’m sure you’d be just as good at figuring it out whether I’m here or not, right? And you probably have to head down to the lake at some point to be ready for the champions, right? And I really don’t want to miss out on such an important event. So can I please go?” She clasped her hands together, and stared up at the nurse with wide eyes.

Madame Pomfrey sighed, and then nodded. “Alright. But if you start to experience any strange symptoms, I must insist that you report them to me immediately.”

Danni nodded eagerly. “I will, I swear it. Thank you so much!” She hopped out of the bed, and and raced back to her dorm room so that she could change into a clean uniform, grinning to herself as she went. She knew that Harry was going to be awesome, and even if the whole even weren’t rigged, she’d believe him capable of winning. And she was pretty sure that her sacrificial moment wasn’t going to happen today, because that seemed more like something that should happen during a big climax. Considering Harry’s current track record with bad stuff happening, it would probably be some time near the end of the school year. Which meant that for now, Danni could just enjoy the show and watch Harry amaze the crowd, and cheer as loudly as possible.


	67. Harry

Harry definitely felt like a champion as he was the first to get out of the water. Danni’s spell had made the trip very easy, and he’d had an odd encounter with Moaning Myrtle that he wasn’t going to complain about, since she’d guided him to the merpeople and their captives. He figured out immediately that Ron was there for him to rescue, so he’d grabbed the red head, and taken off. Ron woke up as soon as they broke the surface, and he looked slightly dazed. Harry dragged himself and his friend over to the waiting crowd.

He wasn’t the first one back at the dock, as he realized that there was some commotion further down the dock. Fleur was wrapped in a blanket, sobbing and speaking in rapid French. He and Ron exchanged confused glances before they were wrapped in blankets of their own. Harry got up, and walked over to the nearest person. “What’s going on?”

They shrugged. “She didn’t make it to her sister, and now she’s afraid that the hour is going to pass and her sister is going to die.”

None of that made any sense to Harry, though he figured that it had to do with whatever clue was in the golden egg. Maybe he should have at least put more of an effort into hearing it, but there hadn’t seemed to be much of a point to that, since he trusted Danni to have given him all the relevant information. She hadn’t said anything about people dying after an hour time limit, so he was pretty sure that that had only been added to scare the champions. 

A few minutes later, Cedric returned with Cho Chang. Once they got closer, he could hear Cho gushing about how Cedric was her knight in shining armor, and that he’d saved her life, and that she’d been so scared but he’d been so brave. “Good thing Hermione isn’t around to hear this,” Ron muttered. “She’d be pissed.”

Harry snorted. “Yeah, she would be.” They finished drying off, and then waited patiently for the end of the task to arrive. Finally, just a few minutes before the hour was up, Viktor returned with Hermione. Harry couldn’t help feeling slightly surprised that Hermione was apparently what Viktor held most dear, but maybe none of Viktor’s actual friends had come on this trip to Hogwarts with him. 

A minute before the hour was up, Fleur sounded downright hysterical. Harry felt for her, but figured that only the champions had signed up for potential death, which meant that Fleur’s sister shouldn’t have been put at any actual risk. But more of his attention was on trying to spot Danni in the crowd. Of course she didn’t have any obligation to show up, but he’d just figured that she would, as a show of support. He couldn’t help feeling a little worried. 

He barely even noticed as Fleur’s sister was returned to the surface by the merpeople right before Fleur looked like she was actually going to have a heart attack from her panic. She pulled her sister into a tight hug, murmuring softly to her in French. Then the scores were announced, and Harry realized that he was still in first place. Happy to have been right about the task, and about being in the lead, Harry turned to Ron. “Hey, do you see Danni anywhere?” But Ron had already taken off to go talk to Hermione. 

Harry rolled his eyes, and was about to leave himself, when suddenly Hermione was walking in his direction, pulling Ron along with her. She gave Harry a concerned look. “Where’s Danni?”

He shrugged. “That’s what I would like to know. I thought that she’d be here to support me, and to do a victory dance about the success of her spell.”

Hermione frowned. “Ron said that he’s the person you pulled out. But when we were all called to Dumbledore’s office this morning, Danni was the one who was there, not Ron.”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, I was never called to the office. I was told to come straight to the dock, and I didn’t really think anything of it.”

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “Now I’m really worried. What could have happened? Do you think that-?” Before he could speculate too hard about Danni’s fate, he felt arms wrap around his middle, and a loud laugh. He whipped around to see Danni standing there, looking up at him fondly. He let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank Merlin you’re okay.”

Hermione took a step closer to Danni. “Are you okay? Why weren’t you in the bottom of the lake with the rest of us?”

Danni sighed. “Apparently the spell McGonagall used to knock us out wasn’t one that agreed with me. As soon as I was under the water, I apparently projected a drowning sensation to everyone in the area, and the headmaster pulled me out right away. Pomfrey wanted to look me over, which is why I couldn’t even wish Harry good luck before the start. But I saw the whole thing. You were in and out so quickly, it was amazing!”

Harry pulled Danni into a hug, and gave her a quick kiss. “Only thanks to your incredible spell.”

She shook her head. “No way. The spell only made sure you weren’t going to die down there. You’re the one who had to swim to the bottom of the lake and back. That takes a lot of strength. You deserved to win, so don’t downplay your victory.”

“Let’s just agree to disagree,” Harry said with a small laugh. “Now let’s get out of here before I get dragged into some interview or picture or something.” 

Danni grinned, and reached out to take Harry’s hand so that they could stroll away from the crowd together. As soon as they were in a more open area, they took off running, laughing to themselves as they did. It was nice to just feel like carefree kids for the moment, since there was usually so much else going on to prevent that.

They went back to the Gryffindor dorm. Nobody was in there, because they were all out near the lake, cheering on their champion without knowing that he’d snuck away from it all. He and Danni sank down onto one of the red couches in the common room, and cuddled up next to each other. Harry still felt a bit damp, but then a moment later he was completely dry, and he glanced over at Danni. She shrugged. “Don’t deny that on occasion it pays to have a mindreading girlfriend. But don’t get too used to this special treatment.” Even though she was joking, Harry couldn’t miss the strange look in her eyes.

He reached over to wrap his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer, and pressed his mouth to the top of her head. “Sometimes I wish that I could read your mind.”

“Ah, don’t worry, there’s never anything particularly interesting going on up there.” She sighed, and then pulled away so that she could look Harry in the eyes. “You should be okay for a while. The third task isn’t until the end of June, which leaves you with a few months to just relax. And you’re in the lead so you get to enter the maze before anyone else. Unless you do anything completely moronic, you’ve got this in the bag.”

Harry frowned. “As much as I love the idea of winning, aren’t you the one who said that that would end badly for me?”

Danni shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” It was hard to doubt her when there was such conviction and determination in her voice. “You should try to get into the Ravenclaw dorm a few times. You have to answer a riddle for that, and similar kinds of riddles could be encountered during the third task. But again, there’s no rush on anything, since there’s still plenty of time.”

Harry grinned. “And once I win the tournament, I can use the winning money to take you on a grand vacation somewhere over the summer.”

Danni’s eyes widened in shock for just a moment before it was replaced with a lazy grin. She smacked Harry gently in the arm. “You’re already rich enough, mister! When you win, you should find a worthy cause to donate the money to. It’ll make you look good, and you won’t even notice the difference.”

“Alright, if that’ll make you happy.” She was right about him not needing the money. And there were definitely plenty of good causes out there that could use it more than he could. “Do you have any particular charities in mind?”

Danni shrugged. “Not really. But I do have some other things in mind at the moment.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. 

Harry snorted loudly. “You are such a dork.” He leaned over to kiss her, but the entrance to the common room swung open a moment later, and a small parade of Gryffindors trooped in. They seemed surprised to see Harry sitting there, and all instantly crowded around him. 

Danni gave his hand a light squeeze, and then leaned in closer so that he’d be able to hear her over the sudden commotion. “I’ll see you later,” she whispered in his ear before getting to her feet and leaving the room. 

Harry let himself be drawn into the celebration that that Gryffindors obviously had to throw. They couldn’t help being party people through and through, and Harry couldn’t help liking the parties more often than not. He hoped that their professors would give them all a pass on homework tomorrow, since they had to be aware of the victory that had taken place. But even if they didn’t, that was tomorrow’s problem. Right now, Harry was just going to have fun with his housemates. 

,,,

After classes (where the professors had mercilessly punished everyone who didn’t have all of their homework done), Harry headed outside. It was pretty cold out, and there was a light layer of frost coating the grass everywhere, but a quick warming charm was enough to keep the bitter cold out, and he waited patiently for Danni to join him. Once she got there, they linked their arms together and began walking.

She obviously had a better warming charm than he did, since she had no jacket or heavy cloak on at the moment. She did breath out the occasional puff of cold air, but didn’t actually seem bothered by the temperature. “So how intense did the partying get? I’ve heard so many rumors already, but I do find it a little difficult to believe that somehow it was the most legendary party to ever take place on Hogwarts grounds.”

Harry laughed. “Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t describe it like that. I mean, it got a little wild, but overall, it was pretty tame compared to some of the celebrations that have been thrown. Especially those quidditch and house cup parties. Now those could qualify as legendary. Though I would say that even then they probably aren’t the greatest of all time.”

The two of them came to a slow stop when they got to the dock, and decided to sit down and hand their legs out over the side. Danni flopped all the way back so that she was staring up at the sky, and Harry followed suite a few seconds later. “It’s such a nice day out.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s below freezing,” Harry pointed out. 

Danni shrugged, and reached over to take Harry’s hand, interlocking their fingers. “There’s a pretty blue sky with just a few clouds, and not many people outside to be bothersome, and I get to spend time with you. What’s not to like about that?”

Harry smiled. “Alright, guess you got me there. And you know what else is nice? Just for once since I got to this school, I don’t really have anything to worry about. At least not at the immediate moment. I know that all of my problems are still going to be around come June, but for now I’ve got time to take a breather. And once my problems are in my face again, I know that I’ll have you by my side to help me through all of it.” As he was speaking, Harry realized that Danni had that weird look on her face again. He wasn’t sure what exactly triggered it, but he was smart enough to notice that it had been happening more and more often lately. He offered her a comforting smile. “Hey, is everything okay? Are you still worried about your aunt?”

Danni blinked a few times, and then slowly shook her head. “No. Whatever’s wrong with her isn’t my fault. And me going to see her might only make things worse. I’ve decided to just not worry about it anymore.” From her tone, it was pretty clear that she couldn’t just turn off her feelings for her aunt. Danni narrowed her eyes. “She’s a death eater, so she doesn’t deserve a happy ending, right?”

Harry just shrugged. He thought that all death eaters were bad news with no exceptions. Or at least, that’s what he’d thought until this year. Now, knowing that Danni’s brother, who didn’t seem too bad, and aunt were both death eaters, it was harder to believe that they were completely heartless monsters. Not that that would stop him from defending himself if any of them attacked him, of course. “I can’t tell you how to feel, Danni. But I know that none of this can be very easy for you. My family is like the polar opposite of yours. Outwardly, they’re the typical nuclear family. Behind closed doors, they’re monsters. Your family are known perpetrators of evil, but they still love you.”

Danni furrowed her eyebrows together. “I’ve heard that you don’t have the greatest home life. Hard to believe that Dumbledore would find the most fitting placement for the ‘boy who lived’ to be with cruel people. Surely there must’ve been a better alternative out there. I guess by now we can all agree that he’s kind of a dick.”

Harry laughed. “I’m not going to disagree with you there. He claims that it was to protect me, but even if that was true, that doesn’t explain why he couldn’t just put me somewhere better once I turned eleven and got introduced to the magical world.”

Danni squeezed Harry’s hand, and tilted her head up so that he could only see the side of her face. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t understand why you’re fated to be unlucky in every universe.”

“Well that’s a little dramatic.” This wasn’t the first time Danni had mentioned the idea of multiple universes. He thought it was interesting that she believed in something like that.

She gulped, and continued staring straight up instead of meeting Harry’s gaze. “I’m going to fix everything. I guarantee you that I will give you the happy ending that you deserve, and not the one that the universe seems intent on giving you.”

Harry scooted closer to her to press a kiss to her cheek. “Well thank you, Ms. Cobb. I do appreciate your dedication to my cause. How could I possibly lose with someone as stubborn as you on my side?” He raised up their linked hands to kiss the back of hers. “I hope you know that I’m the luckiest guy around to be able to have you.”

Danni took in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out. She still refused to look at Harry, and then he saw why, as a single tear slid down the side of her face, where it disappeared into her hair. “I’m so lucky to have you too.”

Harry frowned, and leaned up to balance on one arm so that he could peer down at Danni. She squeezed her eyes shut so that he couldn’t look into them. “What is it? Is there anything I can do to help?”

She shook her head once. “No. I just want- I just want to be able to spend as much time with you as possible, and have an amazing school year, and have everything go perfectly. Is that too much to ask for? I think that it might be. I don’t want to be too selfish.”

“You’re not selfish,” Harry told her in a stubborn voice. He wanted to make sure that she understood. “You’re not selfish. You deserve all the things that you want. You want the rest of this year to be perfect? Then I will make sure that you get one hundred percent of all the things you want.”

Danni sniffled once, and then finally opened her eyes. They were red and watery, but she mustered up a smile. “You’re probably going to regret saying that.”

“Probably,” Harry snorted. “But even if you become the most demanding person I’ve ever met, I’ll still do everything I can to make sure that you get everything you ask for, I promise.” He leaned over to give her a long kiss, and then broke away to flop back onto his back. “You deserve the world, Danni.”

She sighed. “That’s exactly how I feel about you. Then she abruptly changed topics by asking Harry how his day had been, and even though she wasn’t subtle at all, he obliged her and began blabbering on about everything that happened, even the most inane details. He knew that Danni needed to get her mind off of something, and was happy to provide a distraction for her.


	68. Danni

Danni wanted to scream as she stared at her calendar. It felt like time had been her enemy lately, slipping away from her far too quickly to ever be considered fair. It felt like just yesterday she’d been wandering the grounds with Harry, both of them cloaked in warming charms to ward off the frosty air. Now it was hot enough outside that no one was wearing their robes, not wanting to sweat all over them. Danni knew that a month ago, Harry and the other champions had been summoned to discuss the third task. 

She’d followed at a distance, wanting to make sure that everything went okay. And it turned out to be a good thing she had, because Crouch Jr. had been about to stir up trouble for the first time in a while, and Danni had stunned him from behind. Obviously he’d never figured out that it was her who’d done it, or she assumed that he would have wanted to commit some kind of retaliation against her. She hadn’t even told Harry that she’d been there. She didn’t want him to feel like she didn’t trust in his abilities to protect himself.

Danni peered out the window. It was already mid-afternoon, which meant that the third task would begin in just a few short hours. It didn’t feel like enough time. Though to be fair, Danni was pretty sure that even if she had another five years to prepare herself for this, it still wouldn’t be enough time. She wished that the universe was a more fair place, but it wasn’t, and she couldn’t do anything but work with the hand she’d been dealt. It was her life or Harry’s, and she’d already made her decision ages ago about which of them it was going to be. 

She hadn’t wanted to cause her parents alarm too far in advance, because that would give them the opportunity to figure out what was going on and then to try to stop her. And there was the weirdness of knowing that they weren’t even actually her parents, in any universe that she knew of. But she knew it would be cruel to just leave them without saying anything. She’d prepared letters for them in advance, and now she just needed to send them out.

Danni walked up to the owlery slowly, as if that would somehow delay the inevitable from happening. But she still reached the top eventually, and found four available owls. She gave them all plenty of treats, which she’d crammed into her pockets before coming here, and then tied the letters to their legs. One for her mother, one for her father, one for Judy, and one for Jacob. She had another letter for Harry, but she was just going to sneak in and leave that one for him after he’d already left to prepare for the task.

After watching the owls flying away, Danni took in a slow, shuddering breath, and then turned and headed back down the long set of stairs. She knew for a fact that she didn’t want to die, and wondered how many other teens had that same thought with such astounding clarity. If there were any way for her and Harry to both live, then she’d go for that in an instant. She didn’t want to be some martyr. But Harry was more important to the world in the broader sense, and was destined to save it. And with both of them there when they weren’t supposed to be, the world would eventually begin to break down around them, from what Danni understood of it all.

She made her way towards the quidditch fields, wondering how exactly it was all going to end. She knew that the cup would serve as a portkey to bring Harry to a place where he would no longer be protected by the school’s enchantments, and she figured that it would be easiest to save him before that point. But that meant she would have to go through the maze, and somehow not get stopped by anyone as she went in. 

Most of the crowd was gathered around the entrance to the maze, since there was no way for them to spectate from within the hedges, and Danni used that to her advantage. She’d already given Harry his good luck kiss earlier in the day, claiming that she was so short that he wouldn’t be able to see her in the crowd, so even though she guessed that he’d look for her before heading in, she knew he wouldn’t find it odd when he didn’t spot her.

Instead, Danni headed around to a different corner of the maze. There was no one else hanging around there, because there wasn’t supposed to be any way to go through the hedges themselves, leaving the official paths as the only means of travel through the maze. Danni hoped that she’d be able to change that, though. 

If she could force a dragon to go to sleep just by thinking at it hard enough, and could manage to read the minds of goblets and paintings and such, then she couldn’t see any logical reason that she shouldn’t be able to touch the enchanted hedges to get results. As she held her hands out, she paused less than an inch away as she had a sudden flashback to the goblet. She could still remember the way it felt to have all the skin on her palms burned off, and she shuddered at the memory.

But even if that were to happen again, Danni knew that she had to accept it as a casualty of saving Harry. It would definitely ruin her concentration throughout the maze if she had to deal with that excruciating pain, but on the other hand, it would at least make the dying part easier. Then she shook her head once, and covered the remaining space until her hands were pressed right against the hedge. She knew that the physical contact wasn’t truly necessary, but when it came to something as important as saving Harry’s life, she wasn’t going to risk making a mistake just because she hadn’t been able to put all of her focus into what she was doing.

The lack of immediate burning made Danni’s shoulders slump down with relief. Regardless of some of the jokes that had been made based on how her school year had gone so far, Danni did not enjoy pain, and was grateful to not have to worry about it slowing her down throughout the task.

It was strange, because the hedge didn’t have any specific thoughts of its own, but she could hear the spells that had been cast almost like they were being echoed at her. She zeroed in on the spells meant to swallow up the people who touched it, and that were meant to alert the spellcasters involved if there were any incidents. 

Being able to look at the spells as if they were little puzzle pieces was perhaps one of the oddest things Danni had ever seen before, but she didn’t have time to question it. Instead, she plucked away the pieces that would bar her entry, and then stepped right through the hedge. Branches and leaves scraped at her everywhere, but a few scratches wouldn’t mean anything at the end of the night when she was- well. 

Each time Danni stopped to read a section of the hedge, she found that it was easier to pull pieces of the spells away, with a better precision. She didn’t want to wander blindly, and was soon able to use the hedges to get a feel for where the end goal of the maze was. She felt bad for the champions who couldn’t take the massive short cut she was using, but mostly she just worried about what she’d do if she was too late to save Harry. 

Danni paused when she eventually found herself standing right in front of a sphinx. It would be easy enough to walk right in front of it and through the hedge on the other side, or to go back through the hedge she’d just left and travel up a few yards before emerging again. But something about the intelligence in the creature’s eyes made her pause and want to actually listen to it. 

It was strange that the sphinx actually appeared to be surprised by Danni’s presence, at least as much as she was by it’s. “You are not supposed to be here,” it said in a soft, slow voice. “That makes you much more interesting than the champions that will be lucky if they can encounter me.”

Danni shrugged. “I’m not that interesting. Just a mostly regular witch.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I’m assuming that passing you is the quickest way to the cup from here, right?”

The sphinx nodded. “Yes, but you must answer a riddle to pass me. If you agree to hear my riddle, you must answer correctly and pass, and fail to do so and die. Otherwise, you can turn back now and find a different path to the finish line, if such a thing exists.” Then the sphinx slowly rotated its head to look at the hole in the hedge Danni had climbed through. “However, I get the feeling that such a choice would be no difficult decision for you, interesting child that you are.”

“You’re right, I won’t have much trouble getting around you. But it would be nice if you could at least tell me if any of the actual champions have come across you yet.”

There was a long pause before the sphinx shook its head. “None yet, though I suspect that they will be on their way soon. If you wish to beat them to the goal, then you must hurry along, unusual little witch that you are.”

Danni smiled. “Thanks.” Then she ducked back through the hedge she’d come through, and went far enough that when she popped back out she was behind the sphinx. Danni could feel the many scrapes all over her body from her time traversing through the thick hedges, but she didn’t let it slow her down at all. After some of the different kinds of pain she’d faced in the past, this superficial injuries were almost entirely unnoticeable to her.

It didn’t take very long after the sphinx for Danni to spot the cup, sitting out in the open like some gleaming piece of bait to a trap. She ran towards it, and then slowed to a stop right in front of it. If she just grabbed it right this second, it would bring her away from here, and towards dangerous Death Eaters. Maybe even her aunt and brother. It would be safest for everyone if she just left now, before Harry could get the chance to try and grab it. He would know that Danni would never try to steal the cup out of selfishness, and would then try to throw himself forward as the one to be killed.

But Danni refused to let that happen. She took in a deep breath, and then heard running footsteps. She sharply turned her head to look back, and saw both Harry and Cedric racing towards her and the cup, the confusion clearly written across both of their faces. Cedric probably didn’t even know who Danni was at just a quick glance, while Harry would just be wondering what she was doing here in the maze. Maybe he’d even think that she was somehow part of the final task, like an illusion of some sort.

Before he could get close enough to shout out Danni’s name, she wrapped her hand around one handle of the cup, and was immediately whisked away from the maze, and from Hogwarts. The last thing she saw was Harry, and she decided that that was a fitting last image.

And then she was rolling down a hill. Danni knew she’d be transported, and was able to quickly get back to her feet, clutching her wand tightly in her hand. She glanced around quickly, and saw that she was in an old looking graveyard, which was definitely pretty creepy. And then suddenly there was someone running towards her. She relaxed when she saw that it was Jacob, even though she knew that overall, it wasn’t a good thing to be seeing him here. “Danni! What the hell are you doing here?” He pulled her into a hug, and then quickly spotted the cup from over her head, and he took a step back. “What’s going on?”

Danni lowered her wand, and shrugged with one shoulder. “I wasn’t going to let Harry get led straight to his death. He deserves better than that. And the world needs him.”

Jacob sighed. “You shouldn’t have come here. You’re just messing up everything temporarily. Do you really think that we won’t find a way to grab him after tonight? Sure, it would have been nice for the symbolism of it all, and we did need to come here to grab some important bones, but now that we have those, we can honestly hold the ceremony anywhere. Come on, Danni. Let me bring you back.”

She yanked her arm away when he tried to gently grab her by the elbow. “No. I don’t want to hurt you Jacob, but I know what I have to do in this world to make sure that I’m doing the right thing, and that does not involve going back and then watching Harry get slaughtered for some insane reason or another. I’m sorry, but I can’t let that happen.”

Before Jacob could say anything else to try and convince her to leave with him, a few other masked Death Eaters seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and close in around her. They held their wands out menacingly, but Danni had seen too many Death Eaters by this point to think of them as inherently frightening on their own. “You’ve ruined everything!” one of them shouted loudly.

They all began muttering amongst themselves, but then suddenly one rushed forward past the others, flinging her mask aside. “Danni!” Judy pulled Danni into a tight hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before stepping back and glaring down at her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Danni shot back. “I thought that you were sick. That’s what I was told, anyways. Doing accidental magic and muttering to yourself all the time like some kind of nutter.”

Judy narrowed her eyes, and her gaze flicked over to Jacob for just a second before settling back on Danni. “Regardless of what you may or may not have heard, I am perfectly capable of being here and helping to work towards the ceremony that all of us have been waiting for for thirteen years now. You need to leave and mind your own business now.”

Danni wanted to argue back, but then she watched as a short, fat man with a mousy face sidled over into the center of the small circle. “Miss Judy, we cannot finish the ceremony without Potter’s blood.”

Judy clenched her jaw and nodded, but didn’t even look at the strange man for a second before talking to Danni. “Potter will come here without trouble if you ask him to, won’t he? The reason you’re here right now is because you think that you can protect him, isn’t it?”

Danni shrugged. “I’d say yes, but I don’t see anything around here tough enough that he’d need protection from it.” Almost immediately, she could hear the annoyed grumbled thoughts of the Death Eaters, angry at petty insults from a teenager. That definitely didn’t do much to make them seem more intimidating. “Anyways, I would never lead anyone here. Just look at the filth in this place. Probably a million health and safety violations just waiting to be reported.”

Jacob reached over to grab her arm, and he squeezed her a lot tighter than he would normally. She could tell from his surface thoughts that he needed to look strong in front of the others, and that he would rather drag her away and leave a bruise than leave her to be killed by the other Death Eaters. It was sweet of him, but Danni didn’t need his protection. She could handle herself well enough, at least up until the moment that she would stop trying. Something inside of her said that this wasn’t the right moment, though. She was waiting for something, though she had no idea what that might be. 

Danni tried to pull herself away from her brother, but he only tightened his grip, and she didn’t really want to cast any magic to hurt him. No matter what else was going on, or how they were technically related, they were still brother and sister and he was only trying to protect her at the moment. 

Judy looked like she didn’t really know what she wanted to say. “Jacob…” she trailed off, giving him a slightly pleading look. She seemed like she wanted to tell him to just back off, but didn’t want to make it look like she was choosing to let Danni go without punishment right in front of all of the other creepy Voldemort followers.

Before she could think of something to say to get them all out of the current situation, one of the other Death Eaters leapt forward, pointing their wand straight towards Danni. “Your blood should not give you the right to interfere with our business and then walk away unharmed!” He rushed forward more, which was pretty dumb, since he would probably have an easier time of hitting her if he just kept his distance.

But then Judy moved in front of Danni and held out her own wand. “You will not touch my daughter!”


	69. Harry

Harry rushed forward to the spot Danni had just disappeared from, but he already knew that he was way too late. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around, trying to figure out how Danni had even gotten here. Obviously she was smart and creative and clever, but the maze only had one entrance as far as he knew, and there were hundreds of people watching it even now. 

Cedric quickly caught up to Harry. “What just happened? That definitely wasn’t Fleur, so who was it? Do you think that it was a false cup, like the other dead ends in the maze?”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I don’t doubt that that was the real cup.” He just didn’t know why Danni would grab it and run like that. There was no way that anyone would allow her to be the winner of the tournament even if she returned with it. Obviously this had to be related to the Death Eater plan to get Harry to win the tournament so that they could somehow use that to their advantage to kill him. 

There was nowhere else to go by heading forward from here, except for a dead end. Cedric and Harry both let out sighs at the same time, though Harry was sure that it was for different reasons for both of them. “Do you think we should just head back then? I mean, maybe Fleur or Viktor already won somewhere else in this maze and we’ve been heading the wrong way all this time?”

Normally, Harry didn’t think he’d mind so much chatting with Cedric, and maybe even working together with the Hufflepuff so that they could win together in some kind of tie. But right now, he had far more important things on his mind than some stupid tournament. If the whole thing had been rigged from the start to make sure he’d win, then he doubted he would just lose right now, complete game over, unless Danni had done something to interfere without warning him. 

The way that the cup and Danni had both disappeared as soon as she touched it definitely didn’t seem normal. Unless it was meant to transport her back to the beginning of the maze so that the winner wouldn’t have to fight their way back out again. But then that wouldn’t explain what the plan had been all along for Harry. It seemed more likely the cup was supposed to bring him somewhere away from the school where the Death Eaters could do whatever to him in private. If that was the case, then that meant that Danni had really just intentionally gone off without him, because there was no way that she didn’t know what she was doing at this point.

That cup had been the goal but it was gone now, so there was no point in wasting any time. He could survive a little embarrassment of bowing out early if it meant that he’d have a better chance of finding Danni and figuring out just what the hell was going on. He shot a red flare of light up into the sky, and then gave Cedric an apologetic look. “If you want to keep going on your own, I wouldn’t blame you, but personally, I’m just going to give up now.”

Cedric shrugged, and then held out one hand. “It was a good competition.” Harry accepted the handshake, and then wished Cedric good luck before watching the older boy hurry away, intent on winning the tournament. 

After that, it didn’t take long for the hedges next to him to spread apart so that someone could step through, and he saw Crouch Jr, looking rather agitated. “What the hell have you done?” he hissed. 

Of course Harry didn’t trust this man for even a second, but he did figure that his best bet at finding Danni and the Death Eaters was probably with the help of another Death Eater. “Danni grabbed the cup and disappeared.”

Crouch started grumbling under his breath, using some very unflattering words to describe Danni, and the Cobb family in general. “I should have known she would interfere. She’s just that type. Come on, we’ve got to get you to that damn graveyard, or none of this will have meant anything.” 

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “What graveyard? What are you talking about?” Then he watched with wide eyes as Crouch waved around his wand a few times, and then the visage of Mad Eye Moody began to melt away, revealing a young man with red hair and a wild look on his face. Harry still couldn’t see the resemblance between this man and his father, but he assumed that this was what he really looked like. Then Crouch grabbed his arm, and fumbled in the now too large robes to pull out a small box. He held it up to bite into it so he could hold it in place with his teeth while he tapped it a couple of times with his wand, and then both of them disappeared from the maze.

Since he wasn’t exactly an expert at traveling via portkey yet, Harry ended up sprawling across the ground and rolling several feet away from Crouch, who landed on his feet and looked unruffled. Or at least as unruffled as someone could look while also maintaining the look of a naturally deranged man. 

Harry’s attention quickly shifted away from Crouch when he heard the sound of shouting. “You will not touch my daughter!” Harry scrambled to grab his wand from where it had fallen, and then ran towards the commotion. There was a big group of people dressed in black robes and masks that he recognized from their attack during the Quidditch World Cup. These were the Death Eaters, then. And he recognized Danni’s brother as one of the people in the center of the circle, if only because he was so tall. 

There was a great deal of tension in the air, and Harry wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone started slinging spells around left and right and causing a big mess. He wondered for a moment if Danni’s mom was here for some reason, since he had just heard someone shout about their daughter, but then decided that now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. 

Before Harry could really think through a plan, Crouch rushed right into the thick of the crowd. “Enough!” he snapped loudly enough to be heard over everyone else’s angry shouting. “Potter is right there and I refuse to let this plan be screwed up just because none of you are competent enough to do your jobs!” 

The Death Eaters started to move away from their mob formation to get closer to Harry, and he saw Danni grab Crouch’s sleeve to yank harshly on it. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked him in a cold voice. Harry couldn’t hear the response because his gaze shifted to the Death Eaters that were slowly approaching him.

He gripped his wand tightly, and hoped that none of his nervousness was showing on his face. “Stay back. Leave now and I won’t pursue you.”

Several of the robed villains laughed in response. “As if you pose any kind of threat to us, little boy.”

One of them came up from behind and cast a spell that quickly tied Harry up, binding his arms to his sides and forcing him to drop his wand. Then he was lifted into the air and floated over to a very large gravestone, which he was secured to tightly. He squirmed and struggled, but the ropes remained in place. He stopped moving around and took in a few deep breaths before looking up to try and take in as much of the scene as possible so that he could figure out what to do.

A few feet in front of him, he recognized the snake, Peter Pettigrew, who was responsible for Harry’s parents being dead now, and had masqueraded as Ron’s pet rat until last year. He was stirring around an insidious looking potion inside of a large cauldron. Pettigrew looked over at Harry with a slightly demented smile. “You should be grateful to be given the grand role of he who will bring my lord back to life!”

Danni made her way over to Harry, and it was obvious that she was very afraid of whatever was going to happen next. “What the hell are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here. Why did you follow me?” She spoke in a whisper that was just loud enough for him to hear. 

“It wasn’t my fault,” he whispered back. “Crouch brought me here with a backup portkey.”

Danni swore under her breath, and then reached up to give one of Harry’s hands a quick squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’m going to figure something out. I’m not going to let- I’m not going to let anything happen to you, I promise.” She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath before pulling her hand away. “They need your blood for that potion. It will help Voldemort get a corporeal body, and will let him touch you because it will break the protection on you…” she trailed off, looking deep in thought. “Harry, your mom saved you, when you were a baby?”

He nodded. “Doesn’t everyone already know the story? She died trying to protect me. Or at least, that’s what I’ve been told. I was too little to actually remember it happening.”

A determined look slowly spread across Danni’s face. “I’ve spent months trying to figure out how I could actually save you when there’s someone so intrinsically evil who is so utterly focused on bringing about your demise. But I think I know what to do now. I know how to fix everything and save you. Just relax, okay? I’m not going to let you die.” She sounded so earnest that it was impossible to not believe her, but Harry was still worried. He didn’t really understand what was going on, and he wanted nothing more to grab Danni and somehow get both of them back to Hogwarts, where they would be safe. 

Pettigrew sauntered over to where Harry was bound up, wielding a dagger. He gave Danni a quick frown. “Are you going to stand in my way?”

Danni shook her head, and then reached up to hold Harry’s hand. “No. I’m not stupid enough to think that I could stop you. But I hope you don’t think that you’re just going to get away with this. I refuse to believe we live in a world without justice.”

Pettigrew snorted, and didn’t bother to respond to her before reaching up to push up Harry’s sleeve so that he could slice into the Gryffindor’s arm. Harry did his best to stay silent and not move around. He didn’t want to show any weakness. Then Danni squeezed his hand, and it felt almost like permission to squeeze her back, which actually seemed to help him manage the pain a little bit. 

Pettigrew wiggled the blade into the cut, and then carefully walked back over to the cauldron before flicking the blood inside, and then using one finger to wipe off the droplets that remained on the dagger. Harry could feel the blood sluggishly dripping down his arm, but he tried to ignore it as he turned to look at Danni. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”

She had to stand on the tips of her toes to be able to reach Harry’s face from the height he was tied up at, but she gently held one of his cheeks in her hand for a moment before she pulled away from him. “Just trust me, okay? I just need you to believe in me. I can do this, I promise.” Harry didn’t even understand what the ‘this’ was that she meant. Then she blanched, and he turned to look at what she was seeing. Pettigrew was using the dagger to saw off his own hand, and he gulped several times to keep himself from vomiting. 

Then he turned back to Danni. “Can you cut me down from here while he’s distracted?”

Danni arched one eyebrow and nodded towards the cluster of nearby Death Eaters before shaking her head. “Not without getting both of us killed where we stand. Just don’t worry, okay? I know what I have to do now. You’re going to be fine.”

Harry was tired from running around in the maze all day, and he was sore and aching and he couldn’t concentrate enough to figure out why Danni’s exact wording had him feeling so worried. He just sighed. “I do trust you. As surprising as I find it to admit it, I do trust you.”

Danni smiled. “I love you, Harry Potter.” Then she held a finger up to her lips, and took a step to the side so that she was partially hidden from Pettigrew’s view by the thick grave Harry was tied to. There was lots of smoke, and the air practically oozed the smell of magic. 

Then Pettigrew was being shoved to the ground, unable to stop his fall with only one hand, and a naked figure flicked a bone white wand to summon a basic robe to slip on. He practically seemed to glide over to Harry, and then everyone in the graveyard could see him. He looked nothing like the Tom Riddle that had been in the diary, or even a regular old man. Instead, he was as white as a ghost, completely bald, flat nosed like a snake, and he had long, spindly fingers wrapped around his wand. 

He stopped right in front of Harry, a malicious smile on his lipless mouth. “Ah, little Harry Potter.” He slowly reached out to press a finger to the side of Harry’s face, covering the warmth that had been put there by the feeling of Danni’s hand. “We share blood now, which means that you cannot destroy me.” He looked Harry up and down, almost like he was bored. “How strange that one of my greatest enemies is just a child. I suppose all of your previous victories can be attributed to accident or chance, since there’s clearly no way you of all people defeated me intentionally.” He slowly lifted his wand up with his other hand, and pressed it into the soft underside of Harry’s chin. “I think you’ll find that you have fulfilled your only purpose. I have no need of you anymore.” Then he took a step back. “But first, I must decide where punishments are due.” Then he swept away, towards the Death Eaters.

Harry was vaguely aware of the sound of them begging for Voldemort to believe that they had never lost faith in him. But he was paying more attention to Jacob Cobb rushing over to the grave, waving his wand around until the ropes around Harry collapsed into nothing, and he dropped the few inches back to the ground. Danni turned to look at her brother in alarm. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you and your idiot boyfriend out of here, what do you think? Come on, I’ve got a portkey that will take you back to the school-”

“We can’t leave yet,” Danni insisted. “There’s still something I need to do. Can’t you wait and just let us hold onto that portkey until we’re ready to go back?”

Jacob shook his head. “You have got to be joking right now. That man over there wants your boyfriend dead beyond a doubt, and as soon as he finishes berating the others, he’s coming right back over here to finish what he started. There won’t be any second chances or ways out.”

Harry understood Jacob wanting to help his sister, but he couldn’t think of any reason that she’d be in direct danger from Voldemort, and as far as Harry knew, all of the Death Eaters were supposed to hate him because they blamed him for Voldemort’s death the first time around. “Why are you helping me? Shouldn’t you be over there with your colleagues to help plot my demise?”

Jacob sighed. “Because you make Danni happy. Really happy. It’s been a very long time since I can remember the last thing that did that. I may hate you and want you dead, but I’m more loyal to my sister than to my boss. And besides, I’m sure you’ll manage to screw up badly enough to get yourself killed some other time anyways. But you really do have to go now, before you run out of time completely!”

Danni stubbornly shook her head, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Neither of us are going anywhere just yet. Jacob, you know that I’m more than capable of handling myself. Please have faith in me.”

Even though it looked like it pained him to do so, Jacob reached into his pocket to pull out a small candle. “Fine.” He held it out to Harry. “The second you think you’ve got no other choice, I want you to get yourself and my sister out of here, regardless of what she has to say in the matter.”

Harry accepted the candle wordlessly, and watched as Danni leaned forward to pull her brother into a hug. “Thank you. I won’t waste this chance.” Then she pulled away. “You should probably go talk to Judy now. She seemed pretty out of it before. She called me her daughter and everything.”

Jacob nodded. “Be careful.” Then he hurried away.

Once he was gone, Harry turned to Danni. “Now what?” He assumed that she had some ingenious plan cooked up, otherwise there would have been no reason to stick around this place for a single second longer. 

Danni leaned back against the grave behind her. “Now, we wait. Just trust me, okay? And don’t you dare use that portkey on me until the moment I’m ready to go.”

Harry glanced over at the back of Voldemort’s bald head, and he sighed as he leaned back next to Danni. “I really hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I,” Danni muttered. “So do I.”


	70. Danni

Danni adamantly kept her eyes off of the Death Eaters as they screamed over whatever punishments Voldemort had decided to inflict on them. She barely knew most of them, since she’d never had much reason to get too involved with that side of things, but she knew that they must be important to her aunt and brother, and more importantly, they were human beings. They certainly deserved to be thrown in jail or maybe even directly killed, but long drawn out torture seemed to go too far, and they were her enemies. No wonder Voldemort didn’t have many friends these days. 

Instead of looking over at them, Danni kept her attention on Harry. She spoke in a whisper, not wanting to draw Voldemort back over to them a moment sooner than he would come on his own. She wanted as much time as possible with the guy she liked. She reached out to hold one of his hands. “I love you.”

He smiled fondly. “You’re a total moron for a Ravenclaw, but I love you too. Though I might love you even more if you could tell me what exactly your plan is here, because right now, I’m just feeling like a sitting duck.”

“Sorry, but it’s a secret,” Danni whispered back. There wasn’t really much else to say at that point, so she just looked at Harry, taking in everything about him. He was too scrawny and his hair was too messy and his glasses were too crooked, but she couldn’t help thinking that he looked absolutely perfect. 

The precious moment between them seemed to end far too soon, and then there was Voldemort coming back to them. He looked back and forth between Danni and Harry, mostly looking amused. “Ah, young love. You’re Cobb’s baby sister, aren’t you?”

Danni could feel her palms sweat a little. No matter what she expected and planned on, it was still frightening to be directly addressed by someone so evil and so powerful. She nodded once. “Yes,” she managed to squeak out.

Voldemort looked pale enough to be a ghost, just short of being see-through. Danni figured that it had to be intentional, because it was much more intimidating than the attractive young man he’d resembled in the few pictures she’d seen of his youth. “Step aside then, little Cobb. No need to break the hearts of my loyal followers.”

Danni gulped, and it only took less than a second to see enough of Voldemort’s mind to know that he was only slightly more sane than Crouch Jr, and that he would absolutely kill anyone who stood in his way. Including her. The only good thing was that he was too crazed and focused on his current goal to think much about anything else. Then she mentally backed away to glance in Harry’s mind instead. He was clearly scared, though he refused to show it outwardly. She pushed past that to focus on the small bit of warmth emanating from where his love for her was stored. It would be a nice last comfort, wrapping around her like a blanket. 

She took a deep breath, then shuffled forward so that she was standing in front of Harry. “You can’t kill him. I won’t let you.”

For some reason, Voldemort still appeared amused. He held up one arm to motion for his Death Eaters to stay still instead of just grabbing Danni and physically yanking her aside. “Such bravery, and yet it is worthless. Step aside now, or die with him.”

Voldemort was freshly resurrected, and ready to bring about Harry’s death no matter what. He wasn’t thinking clearly, wasn’t connecting the pieces despite how familiar they should be to him. Danni crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not going anywhere. If you want to get to Harry, you’ll have to go through me.”

Voldemort rolled his eyes, and glanced over at the Death Eaters. Judy was huddled on the ground, Jacob hugging her and trying to comfort her. He looked over at Danni with wide, panicked eyes, and then looked to Harry instead, probably willing him to get them out of there. But Danni had made Harry promise that he wouldn’t do anything yet. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for a grand funeral,” he drawled. Then he lazily flicked his wand, and a green light shot towards Danni, too quickly for her to move out of the way even if she wanted to.

,,,

Dying was supposed to be painless. It also wasn’t supposed to involve waking up at a faintly familiar train station. She looked around for a moment, and then she spotted the table where she’d sat at before, and recognized the neat blonde hair and warm brown eyes. She hurried over to him, since she didn’t really know where else to go. “David?”

He let out a small started gasp, and then looked up at her. “Danni? What are you doing back here?” He looked around wildly, but there was clearly no train waiting to whisk her away this time. His shoulders slumped for for a moment, but then he got up to pull her into a hug. “What on Earth have you been up to?”

Danni shrugged, and then they both sat down next to each other. “I figured out how to save Harry. Or at least, I really, really hope that I did. His mom protected him with her love when she died. I hope that I was able to do the same. And maybe it’ll make Voldemort kill himself all over again, or maybe it won’t, but either way, Harry should be safe. Do you think that will work?”

David shrugged helplessly. “I really don’t know anything about magic, Danni. But I- I’m sad for you that you had to make that kind of decision when you’re still so young. But I’m also proud of you for working so hard to protect him. There’s no point in yelling at you about it now, right? What’s done is done.” Then he looked around the station for a moment before focusing back on Danni. “Or maybe it’s not. I know there’s no train here this time, but I’ve never come here even when other family members have died, so I don’t know why it would be different with you unless it somehow means that you still have a way back.”

Danni furrowed her eyebrows. “Wouldn’t it kind of destroy the entire point of sacrificing myself if I just pop back to life?”

David shrugged again. “Like I said, I don’t know everything. But I do know that that wasn’t here last time.” He pointed over at the tracks, and Danni turned to look. There was a dragon. Not just any dragon, either. It was a Hungarian Horntail. And somehow Danni just knew that it was the same one from the tournament. David followed her as she went over to investigate the strange appearance of the dragon.

She tried to get even a brief glance at the surface thoughts, but it was the same unreadable feeling as before. The dragon uncoiled from the ball it had been curled up in, and let out a testy snort before pointing its head further down the track. Danni turned to look, and saw what appeared to be a baby. Her eyes widened in realization. “I think that’s supposed to be me over there. I think this is showing me the things and people who I actively went into the heads of rather than my usual policy of just looking. So I guess that confirms we’re in my head, right? I mean the odds of this dragon being dead and then also being in my afterlife seem low. And there’s definitely no reason that myself as a baby would be here because I didn’t die as a baby, obviously.” She furrowed his eyebrows. “But the first time I saw you here was before Judy showed me everything, so how could I have put you here?”

David offered a smile. “Ah, again, I’m no expert with magic, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be possible for this to be real and in your head, you know? I don’t know, but I feel like I’m a real person, so doesn’t that count for anything? And I guess even if I’m not, you could at least pretend to give yourself some advice, huh?”

Danni tilted her head and looked at the man curiously. “What kind of advice were you thinking of?”

“Well, I’m not sure how much a baby can tell you. But I know that in a lot of stories, at least ones that I’ve read, displayed dragons as these wise, noble creatures. Maybe try asking the dragon for advice?”

Well, it’s not like she could get banged up even worse, regardless of whether this was all in her mind or not. And she had no reason to try putting it to sleep, so hopefully it wouldn’t make her pass out, though she wasn’t exactly sure how she’d be able to understand it, with the language barrier between them and all. 

But it was at least worth a try. She looked at the dragon imploringly. “You wouldn’t happen to be able to tell me anything about what’s going on here, would you? I mean, maybe just a bit of a clue about why you’re here this time, or if you could somehow let me know whether or not Harry is okay.” She tentatively reached out to rest her hand against the dragon’s leg, moving slowly so that it had plenty of time to move away if it wanted to. The dragon stayed put. Danni closed her eyes and concentrated on trying to read whatever it might throw at her. Nothing came, and she sighed and stepped back. “I don’t think I can read minds in this place. Or you’re just a figment of my imagination, so you don’t have a mind to read.”

The dragon snorted, and then flapped its wings a few times without actually taking off. Then it nodded down the track in the opposite direction from the baby. Danni looked, but didn’t see anything there. She glanced at David, and he gave her a puzzled little shrug. The two of them started walking that way. She wasn’t sure how long they walked, though it felt like days had passed, but then she finally saw a train there. She stared at it with wide eyes. “Wait- you can still go back?” David gave her an excited look. “Danni, you have to go back! If it’s a choice, then you have to go. You’re too young for it to be over forever for you.”

“But then I’d be leaving you here alone. I don’t want to do that. I mean, do you just sit here all by yourself when I’m not here? That sounds too lonely.”

David shook his head, a small smile on his face. “I’m not usually here,” he gestured around the station. “I have my parents and grandparents and my childhood dog. I’m only here when you are. I think it’s just further proof that you’re not supposed to be moving on yet, otherwise I don’t see why you wouldn’t go to the other place with me.”

Danni pulled him into a hug. “I get the feeling that if I leave now, I’m not going to see you again for a very long time.”

“That’s a good thing,” David said softly. “And someday, when it is the right time, I’ll still be here, I promise.”

Danni jumped back in surprise when she felt the dragon’s hot breath against her back. She hadn’t even heard it move. She also hadn’t realized how much she relied on being able to sense the minds around her until it suddenly wasn’t a thing. She stared at it, waiting for it to figure out how to communicate. 

The dragon nodded lazily towards the train, and then swiveled its head and craned its neck forward so that it was resting its head on top of Danni’s. Obviously it didn’t put its full weight down or it probably would have crushed Danni’s head completely. When she continued to stare at it in confusion, the dragon looked almost like it was rolling its eyes at her before repeating the action of nodding towards the train and then resting on Danni’s head. When it did it a third time, Danni narrowed her eyes, and took a step back so that she’d be out of its range. 

She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked back and forth between the train and the dragon. “I don’t think you’re trying to discourage me from taking the train. You’re the one who pointed it out to me in the first place. But there’s something else about the train that I need to know.” She paused as she thought about it. The dragon kept going back and forth between the train and her head. The train or her head? She blinked a few times before speaking slowly. “The only thing that’s ever been special about my head is my ability to read minds. Are you saying that if I take the train I won’t be able to do that anymore? Like a choice between keeping that power and going back to the world?” The dragon dipped its head down once. “Would Harry still be okay?” The dragon snorted but didn’t respond. It seemed to be getting annoyed with Danni’s questions. 

It was strange; she was completely willing to give up her own life to save Harry’s, but the idea of giving up her mind reading seemed so unimaginable. It had been a part of her for as long as she could remember. Even though she didn’t always use her ability, and in fact had only started using it more frequently since meeting Harry, it had always been there, in the back of her mind. Letting her know how many people were around here at any given moment, letting her occasionally get away with not studying for exams, giving her insight about whether or not she was saying the right things. It had been a secret, but it had always been a huge part of her. A piece of her identity itself. How would she even live without it?

She realized that it was maybe a dumb thing to get worked up over, but even if it had always been her big secret, it had also been a big advantage. It had been what made her different. What made her special. What made her important. Speaking of important reminded her of another reason her death had mattered. “What about the problem of me and Harry both being alive in the same world? Won’t that still be an issue? Or, or was it just the mind reading existing in the same world as him that was the problem all along?” The dragon dipped its head once, and then flew off, apparently content that Danni had all of the information she needed to make a decision. 

David scoffed. “Not much of a talker, is he?” Then he gave Danni a concerned look. “I know I can’t make you go back, and it’s a lot for me to ask you to give up something important to you, but I still think that you should take advantage of life while you still can.”

Danni nodded. “I know, I know. It’s just- I don’t know what it’s like to be a normal person.”

David gave her another hug, and then pressed a brief kiss to the top of her head. “I have no doubt in my mind that you will never be a ‘normal’ person. Just be yourself, okay?”

“But I don’t know who I am without my gift.”

One corner of David’s mouth tilted up into a smile. “Last time we spoke you made it sound like you thought of it as more of a curse than anything.” He reached out to smooth down Danni’s hair, even though she was sure that it was a pointless gesture. “Regardless of how you look at it, your ability isn’t all you are. It would be like if I suddenly couldn’t play piano anymore. Would it suck? Definitely. Playing piano was my life for a long time. But it still wasn’t everything, even at the high points of my career. And hey, maybe it would be a good opportunity to learn a new instrument, you know?”

Danni didn’t think that it was a very close analogy, but she appreciated his effort. And, “I didn’t know you played piano.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure there’s a lot we don’t know about each other. I promise I’ll tell you all about it in fifty years or so. And then you’ll have a lot more life stories to tell me, too.”

Danni nodded. “Alright. Deal.” She gave him another hug, and this time she didn’t want to let go. Which was strange, since he really was essentially a stranger to her. She finally peeled herself away, though. “See you in fifty years.”

“Or more,” David added. “I definitely won’t complain if it ends up being more.”

She nodded again, and then took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before turning and getting onto the train. She had no idea what was going to be waiting for her back in the real world, but she knew it was the right thing to do to go back. Harry would probably always feel guilty if Danni died for him, and that wasn’t fair to put that on him if she could avoid it. And she wanted to be able to see him and kiss him again. And see her other friends, and her brother, and her aunt, and her parents. There’d be a lot to miss out on if she stayed here. And David was right, he’d still be here in the future. 

Only the unknown was in front of her, and from now on, that would be all that was behind her too. But everyone else went their entire lives like that, so there was no reason that Danni couldn’t learn to do the same.


	71. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4 years of writing this fic and it's finally the end!

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Danni being as stubborn as ever, and then that break green light, which was far too pretty a color to be the cause of so many deaths, and then Danni was falling to the ground like a marionette that had had her strings suddenly cut. Harry quickly moved to catch her, but he wasn’t an idiot. Besides himself, there was no record of anyone ever surviving the killing curse, but Harry still couldn’t just let her fall. 

He gulped once, trying to keep in the loud screams that were itching to come out of his throat. Hadn’t he already lost enough by now? So many people dead, and what had he ever done to deserve their sacrifices? Their bravery? 

Harry knew that he had never been the most amazing when it came to casting spells. There was no way he would survive in a duel against Voldemort himself. And was there even a point in trying? It seemed like he would probably just get more people killed or hurt. Didn’t there have to be some kind of limit to how much chaos a single person could be responsible for?

But no, because it wasn’t really him causing all the trouble. He hadn’t gone out of his way to be a very good person, at least not until after he’d known Danni for a little while, but it was Voldemort who was really causing all of the destruction. And Danni had just died for him, as pointless as it was to do that, and he couldn’t go down without a fight and make her death meaningless. 

So Harry remained kneeling on the ground with Danni’s head on his lap, but he quickly reached into her pocket to grab her wand, and he pointed it up at Voldemort defiantly. “I won’t let you get away with this,” he vowed in a voice that was calm enough to surprise even himself. 

Voldemort just grinned, apparently amused by Harry’s efforts, but Harry wasn’t alone. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Jacob and Judy both stood tall and pointed their wands out towards Voldemort as well. “You killed her,” Judy whispered in horror. “After everything that was done to make sure she could keep living, you killed her.”

Jacob’s hand didn’t waver even once, and Harry wondered for a second if Danni’s brother had ever actually killed anyone before. He decided that he didn’t want to know, at least not at the moment. He didn’t say anything, just glared at Voldemort like that would somehow mean anything to the man. If he could even be considered a man anymore. 

Voldemort glanced over towards Judy and Jacob, and rolled his eyes. “You’re going to blame me for this? I did tell her to get out of the way. No one to blame but herself. I’m not sure what it is about Potter that has people falling over themselves to die in his presence, but I certainly am not responsible for that phenomenon.”

Judy and Jacob both remained as they were, holding their wands out with steady arms, and staring at Voldemort with unwavering looks. Harry never would have thought he’d see the day where Death Eaters would ever turn on their boss. It had always felt like they were freakishly obsessed with the man, so to see that they still had priorities above serving Voldemort’s every whim humanized them. Made Harry wonder if they all had families they’d be willing to stand up for like this.

Apparently starting to take their threat at least a little bit seriously, Voldemort pivoted around to face them fully. None of the other Death Eaters had yet moved to do anything, standing around giving off a feeling of anxiety, clearly unsure of whether they were supposed to attack their cohorts or not. Or maybe they just assumed that Voldemort was powerful enough to handle the threat on his own.

Harry could feel the way his own arm was trembling, but he didn’t stop pointing Danni’s wand towards the villain. Voldemort seemed content to ignore Harry for the moment, though, as he focused on Danni’s family. “Your loyalty has been sworn to me,” he said in a soft, dangerous voice. He seemed to be narrowing in on Judy specifically. Now that he thought about it, Harry realized that Jacob was far too young to have ever actually met Voldemort in the time since joining his ranks, which meant Voldemort wouldn’t recognize him. “I know I’ve been gone for a while, but I’ll admit that there seems to be something different about you.”

Judy clenched her jaw. “Whatever I’ve been through is hardly any of your business. Like you said, you’ve been gone a while. You’ve missed a lot.”

Voldemort casually pointed his wand back at Danni’s corpse. “Like that? I’ll admit, I don’t recall you having a niece. Of course I’ve had my ways of gaining information the entire time I’ve been gone, so I know that she exists, but if she’s Potter’s age, surely I should recall something of her existence from before my near death?”

Harry didn’t want to just leave Voldemort here to cause more harm another day, but there was really nothing he could do to fight the wizard, and he needed to make sure that he actually got home safely while Voldemort was distracted. Though he couldn’t deny that he was curious to hear what Voldemort was getting at, there was no time for it. Harry reached into his pocket for the candle Jacob had given him. He should have gone against Danni’s wishes and gotten them both out of there sooner, but now the least he could do was bring her back with him, so that her parents could better understand what had happened.

He lowered his wand arm so that he could light the candle, when he was suddenly stopped by a hand on his wrist. His eyes widened, and he let out a sharp gasp as he looked at Danni’s face, thinking that surely he was hallucinating out of grief. Because Danni was blinking and looking up at him. Her face was pale, and her eyes were glassy, but she was alive. 

He projected thoughts of love and relief towards Danni as hard as he could, hoping she would understand. He could lecture her later for her recklessness. Right now, he was just beyond words to have her alive in his arms. He sent her a thought so that she’d know he was going to use the candle, but she just stared up at him blankly. 

Harry wasn’t really sure what the after effects of surviving the killing curse would be for her. He’d been too young to even remember it when it happened to him, but he wasn’t sure how Danni could possibly forget. He couldn’t blame her for being a little out of it at the moment. He’d get them both out of here, and then Danni could be taken the infirmary yet again, and someone else, adults and aurors, would stop Voldemort because they were far more qualified for the job than Harry was, and everything would be okay. 

“It’s so quiet,” Danni whispered, though her voice seemed to carry through the graveyard. “It’s so quiet. I feel like my head is completely empty. I feel like I might be dead right now. How can the world ever be so quiet?”

Harry looked up and saw that everyone was staring at them, taken aback by Danni’s current aliveness. Now he definitely had to get them out of there. He quickly pointed the wand at the candle to light it, and suddenly they were landing on roughly on the grassy field just outside of the maze. People were everywhere, waiting to cheer for whichever champion emerged victorious. They clearly hadn’t been expecting the sight of Harry with blood dripping down his arm holding up Danni, whose eyes were darting around frantically, and she kept silently mouthing something about how the world was too quiet. 

Dumbledore and several other professors rushed forward to figure out the commotion. Harry and Danni were both promptly escorted to the infirmary, and Harry tried to ignore the barrage of questions that were being screamed at him. People wanted to know who Danni was, why she’d been with him, what had happened to them, where were the other champions. Harry just wanted to lie down and go to sleep for the next five years. 

His arm was quickly patched up, while Madame Pomfrey looked at Danni in concern after running her usual panel of assessment spells. “I don’t really know what’s…” she trailed off and stared at Danni with wide eyes. Danni had finally sat up on her own, still looking a bit dazed, and her shirt was loose enough that everyone could clearly see the little lightning bolt at the base of her neck, still a bright, angry red. “Oh my.” Pomfrey’s eyes flicked over to Harry’s forehead for a moment before she rushed away. 

Harry was sure they wouldn’t get much opportunity for privacy for a while after this, so he took the chance to get up and sit down on the edge of Danni’s bed. He reached out to take one of her hands. “I know it’s probably a dumb question, but are you okay?”

Danni reached up with her free hand to press lightly against the new mark. “Guess we have matching scars now,” she said quietly.

Harry smiled. “Relationship goals, huh?” Then his expression shifted into something more serious. “Do you know how you survived?”

Danni gulped, and then shrugged. “I can’t hear anything anymore,” she whispered. “I mean, I knew that that’s what I would be giving up to come back here, but it’s still so strange. I feel like my head is just hollow, like the world maybe isn’t even real. How can it be real when I have no idea how many people are around me, and what they’re thinking?” Then she pulled her hand away from Harry’s, folding her knees up to her chest and burying her face in her arms. “The only thing that was ever special about me, and now it’s gone, and I’m just- just-”

Harry pulled her into a hug. “Hey, that definitely wasn’t the only thing special about you. Do you think any ordinary person would be able to mess with the house points? It’s how we met, remember? And it had nothing to do with your mind reading. And you’re also stubborn and brave and smart and beautiful and funny, and I could go on about all the amazing parts of you all night. Being able to read minds is certainly cool, but it’s not all you are. And even if you were just a perfectly ordinary girl from the start, I can’t imagine that I wouldn’t love you as much as I do right now.”

Danni shifted around so that she could return the hug, and pressed her face into Harry’s shoulder. “I’d give it up again in a heartbeat if I had the chance to do everything again. You’re safe now. Saved you with love magic. And we’re not blood-related so I’m not sure if your blood would undo it all again or not, but first that would require Voldemort to do his almost death thing again.”

Harry pulled back to stare at Danni in awe. “We’re still just kids. How could you ever make a decision like that? Did you know that you’d be able to come back?”

Danni shook her head. “No. It didn’t matter. You’re more important to this world than I am, Harry. And if there was a way to save you and I didn’t do everything in my power to at least try, I would hate myself forever. And- well, I’m not sure if you’re going to believe me, but there’s another reason I had to-”

She was interrupted by the sound of Dumbledore clearing his throat. “Ah, Miss Cobb, I’m pleased to see you looking better. Now Madame Pomfrey just told me a most curious thing,” he started.

Danni sighed, and then leaned the rest of the way away from Harry so that the mark on her would be clearly visible. “You mean this?”

Dumbledore stared, clearly having been taken slightly by surprise. “Yes, well,” he blinked a few times. “I’m terribly sorry to have to do this so soon after you’ve clearly been through something traumatic, but it will be easiest for everyone if you share your story now, before people start making up their own versions.”

Harry reached over to take Danni’s handa gain, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Alright. It’s definitely going to cause some panic, though.”

“We’ll talk later,” Danni muttered into his ear so quietly that he almost couldn’t hear it. He gave a nearly imperceptible nod in response, and then they both turned to face Dumbledore. It was a crazy story to be sure, and they didn’t want to leave out any important details. 

,,,

A few days passed. Danni never bothered to wear anything with a high collar, so everyone could see her mark. At first there were rumors that it was all muggle stage makeup because of an intense obsession with Harry, but then they saw the haunted look in her eyes, and began to believe that there was more to the story. When Dumbledore announced to the school that Voldemort was back, and had tried to kill two of the students, it had definitely caused a panic, but eventually it died down a bit, and turned into mainly skepticism.

A few days after that, Judy and Jacob both showed up at the castle, but didn’t bother trying to hide away in the corners and shadows. They went straight to Dumbledore’s office- or at least that’s what they told everyone. They didn’t see the need to mention the slight detour to find Harry and Danni, who’d been nearly inseparable since the graveyard. Jacob handed Harry his wand back, and Harry was surprised that he hadn’t even given much thought to the way his wand had been left behind. Judy had pulled Danni into a tight hug and whispered apologies until Danni shoved her away and told her that it was okay. 

With two certified Death Eaters showing off their very saturated dark marks, and testifying that Voldemort was back, on top of Danni and Harry’s testimony, and the fact that Danni was bearing the scar of the curse that Voldemort had attacked so many with over the years, the general public seemed to be willing to believe the story that Voldemort had returned. And once the public was on board, the ministry jumped to agreement not long after, not wanting to be seen as the villains who refused to listen to everyone. 

And then there was everything that Danni had explained to Harry once they’d finally gotten the chance to talk. They’d both pledged to have no more secrets between them, though Danni no longer had any way of knowing for sure. It was all crazy, but Harry found that he believed it, especially when Judy verified it all with a sad little smile on her face. 

Of course Harry still gave a small lecture about recklessness, but in the end he couldn’t even raise his voice. How could he truly be angry at Danni when she was trying to save the entire world, and his life? 

There was still a lot that Danni needed to learn, though. She’d always been a rather empathetic person because she knew and understood what everyone was going through even when it wasn’t put into words. But now she was more awkward, and didn’t understand how to read people because it was something she’d never needed to know before. And there were times when Harry would freak out as Danni curled up in a corner and just started talking nonsense and making all kinds of noises, unable to stand the quietness in her own head. At times like those, Harry would find something noisy to do, or would calm her down enough to bring her out to a large crowd. 

She joked that at least she had the scar as a good conversation starter now, though it was obvious she missed her mind reading. It had been an integral part of her for basically her entire life. Though they both agreed that it most likely had manifested somehow during the actual trip from her original world to this one, they decided that it didn’t really matter how or why she’d been able to do it. 

Harry knew without a doubt that his life would never have been the same without Danni in it. And the whole world wouldn’t be the same, either. Jacob and Judy would have never had a reason to care and get soft, Harry would probably be dead, all the people she’d helped work through their feelings would have been left on their own. 

It was strange to know that there existed another world in which he had died as an infant, but Harry decided not to dwell on that. That was some other person’s life, not his. He was just glad that Danni was here now, even if he hated all the things she had to go through to get to this point. He suddenly reached over to grab her hand as they listened to one of their professors drone on and on. He thought about how much he loved her, even though he knew she couldn’t read his mind. Danni glanced over at him in confusion for a moment, but at least some of Harry’s feelings must have been showing on his face, because Danni gave him a fond grin. 

So maybe she couldn’t read minds anymore. It wasn’t the end of the world. Like he’d told her before, there was so much special about her beyond that one ability. And Harry loved her for all of those things. He didn’t think he’d ever stop being grateful for that night when he’d seen a name on a map and decided to go investigate. He hadn’t known at the time everything that would come of it, but he wouldn’t give any of this up for the world.


End file.
